KaliQuest (Project Moon/RWBY)

[breakingamber]

So… no chapter yet. It's a bitch to write, not especially helped that

1. I have two words worth of vote to turn into something vaguely decent and sincere.
2. I'm having difficulty spinning any of the following 'backup votes' into something in-character and conflict-defusing.
3. I threw another brick at Sword of Volition and had it thrown back in my face by the superior brick: writer's block.

If you guys have got any tips or guidance, I'd appreciate it. Anyway. I figured I should still publish something, and this is that something. A hypothetical Reception of Team RWBY, as it might be done in Library of Ruina itself. Warnings for the usual tragedy and a gratuitous amount of game mechanics.

Spoiler: Reception of Team RWBY

For most intents and purposes, this Reception takes place during the second half of Urban Nightmare, loosely replacing the Crying Children reception. Backstory: Angela, testing the Library's systems, learns that she can (and should) send invitations to residents of other worlds. And unfortunately for RWBY, they're first up on the chopping block. They all end up signing the invitation in their dorm room, and proceed to be taken to the Library. They're mostly just curious, not knowing what's going on.

Roland has some qualms about murdering kids, but in the end shrugs it off as 'that's that and this is this. Cue the massacre: four on four battle with only one Floor.

Spoiler: General Notions

Most Remnant characters utilize at least some if not all of these Combat Pages. A sort of general suite, so to speak.

• (0) Focus Aura
  • On Use: Restore 1 Light.
  • 3-8 Block
  • 2-5 Counter Block
• (1) Dust Ammunition
  • On Use: Add a random type of Dust to hand. Draw 1 page.
  • 2-7 Pierce
• (0) Burn Dust
  • On Play: All Ranged dice inflict 1 Burn on hit this Scene and next Scene. Only one type of Dust can be used at a time.
• (0) Ice Dust
  • On Play: All Ranged dice inflict 1 Bind and Disarm on hit this Scene and next Scene. Only one type of Dust can be used at a time.
• (0) Gravity Dust
  • On Play: Reduce the power of all dice clashing with this character by 1. Only one type of Dust can be used at a time.
• (0) Electricity Dust
  • On Play: All Ranged dice inflict 1 Paralysis on hit this Scene and next Scene. Only one type of Dust can be used at a time.

Spoiler: Ruby's Page

Ruby's Page

HP: 76 (56)
SR: 76 (56)

Ranged: Can use Ranged Combat Pages.

Speed III: Speed Dice Slot +1. Gain an additional Speed die at Emotion Level 3. (Cannot Overlap)

Aura: Damage resistances remain "Immune" until Staggered, at which point they return to normal for the remainder of the reception. Stagger Resist is not recovered if an Act ends.

Crescent Rose: Slash Dice Power +1, Ranged Dice Power +1.

Petal Burst: Choose the Speed dice with the highest value; the Speed values of the dice are increased by two.

Silver Eyes: Untransferable. On ally death, add a copy of Blinding Light to hand and reduce its cost by the current Emotion Level.==


Deck:

• (3) Ice Flower (Ranged)
  • Combat Start: If an ally is playing a page with the same name, all dice on this page gain the effects of all corresponding dice on that page.
  • 2-8 Pierce
  • 3-7 Pierce
  • 5-11 Blunt
• (1) Ladybug
  • Combat Start: If an ally is playing a page with the same name, restore 2 Light at the end of the Scene.
  • 3-8 Slash
  • 3-8 Evade
• (2) Sunrise
  • Combat Start: If an ally is playing a page with the same name, all Offensive dice on this page gain 1 Power and inflict 1 Burn on hit.
  • 3-7 Slash
  • 2-8 Block
  • 4-7 Blunt
• (3) Scatter (Mass Individual)
  • 3-8 Slash (On Hit: Gain 1 Haste)
• (3) Trails of Red
  • 5-11 (If this die would lose in a clash, destroy the last die on this page and reroll it with +5 Power).
  • 5-7 Block
  • 3-7 Slash
• (7) Blinding Light (Mass-Summation)
  • 5-11 Slash (On Hit: Immobilize target next Scene).

Spoiler: Weiss's Page

Weiss's Page

HP: 80 (52)
SR: 80 (52)

Speed: Speed Dice Slot +1. (Cannot Overlap)

Aura: Damage resistances remain "Immune" until Staggered, at which point they return to normal for the remainder of the reception. Stagger Resist is not recovered if an Act ends.

Myrtenaster: Pierce Dice Power +1.

Glyphs: Has access to unique E.G.O. Untransferable.

Deck:

• (2) Ice Flower
  • Combat Start: If an ally is playing a page with the same name, all dice on this page gain +2 Power.
  • 2-5 Slash (On Hit: Inflict 1 Bind and Paralysis)
  • 2-5 Slash (On Hit: Inflict 1 Bind and Paralysis)
  • 3-7 Pierce (On Hit: Inflict 1 Bind, Paralysis, and Feeble).
• (2) Checkmate
  • Combat Start: If an ally is playing a page with the same name, restore 2 Light at the end of the Scene.
  • 5-7 Evade
  • 3-8 Pierce
  • 2-8 Pierce
• (5) Freezerburn (Mass Individual)
  • Combat Start: If an ally is playing a page with the same name, all dice on this page gain +2 Power and inflict 2 Burn on hit.
  • 3-6 Pierce (On Hit: Inflict 1 Feeble and Disarm)
  • 5-8 Pierce (On Hit: Inflict 1 Feeble and Disarm)
• (2) SDC Supply
  • On Use: Add two random types of Dust to hand. Draw 1 page.
  • 2-7 Slash
  • 3-8 Pierce
  • 2-4 Block
• (0) Time Dilation Dust
  • On Play: Gain 2 Haste this Scene and next Scene. Only one type of Dust can be used at a time.

E.G.O. Pages

• (0) Glyph (Ranged)
  • 5-10 Pierce
• (0) Glyph: Fire (Ranged)
  • 6-11 Slash (On Hit: Inflict 4 Burn)
• (0) Glyph: Gravity (Ranged)
  • 6-11 Blunt (Start of Clash: Reduce Power of all opponent's dice by 2)
• (0) Glyph: Ice (Ranged)
  • 7-12 Pierce (On Hit: Inflict 1 Feeble and Bind)
• (0) Glyph: Electricity (Ranged)
  • 6-11 Slash (On Hit: Inflict 2 Paralysis and Disarm).
• (2) Glyph: Time Dilation (Ranged)
  • On Use: Gain a Speed Die for the next Scene.
  • 6-11 Blunt
• (3) Glyph: Summoning (Ranged)
  • Combat Start: All dice gain "Recycle this die one time" this Scene.
  • 5-10 Pierce

Weiss's Glyph pages have no cooldown. Zilch. Nada. She only gets one per Scene, though, and which one exactly depends on the Dust effect she currently has active. Time Dilation Dust, necessary for utilizing the Time Dilation Glyph, is only obtained via Weiss's SDC Supply.

Spoiler: Blake's Page

Blake's Page

HP: 83 (52)
SR: 83 (52)

Ranged: Can use Ranged Combat Pages.

Speed: Speed Dice Slot +1. (Cannot Overlap)

Aura: Damage resistances remain "Immune" until Staggered, at which point they return to normal for the remainder of the reception. Stagger Resist is not recovered if an Act ends.

Gambol Shroud: Slash Dice Power +1.

Shadow: Evade Dice Power +1. When using Dust, all effects apply on clash win.

Deck:

• (1) Ladybug (Ranged)
  • Combat Start: If an ally is playing a page with the same name, gain 2 Haste next Scene.
  • 3-8 Evade
  • 3-8 Slash
• (2) Checkmate
  • Combat Start: If an ally is playing a page with the same name, all Offensive dice on this page gain "On Hit: Inflict 1 Bind and Paralysis".
  • 3-8 Pierce
  • 3-8 Evade
  • 5-8 Slash
• (1) Bumblebee (Special Melee)
  • Combat Start: If an ally is playing a page with the same name, all Offensive dice on this page gain 2 Power and inflict 2 Burn on hit.
  • 5-10 Blunt
  • 2-6 Counter Slash
• (3) From Shadows
  • 5-8 Evade
  • 2-11 Evade
  • 4-4 Slash (Recycle this die three times.)
• (2) Spark the Fires
  • 14-25 Slash (On Clash Win: This die loses 10 Power.)

Spoiler: Yang's Page

Yang's Page

HP: 91 (53)
SR: 91 (53)

Ranged: Can use Ranged Combat Pages.

Speed: Speed Dice Slot +1. (Cannot Overlap)

Aura: Damage resistances remain "Immune" until Staggered, at which point they return to normal for the remainder of the reception. Stagger Resist is not recovered if an Act ends.

Ember Celica: Blunt Dice Power +1.

Burn: For every 10 Stagger damage taken, gain one stack of Rage. Rage can be spent with a Combat Page to gain strength proportional to the amount of Rage. If this character is Staggered, do not gain Rage for the rest of the Reception.

Deck:

• (2) Sunrise
  • Combat Start: If an ally is playing a page with the same name, restore 3 Light at the end of the Scene.
  • 2-5 Blunt (On Hit: Inflict 1 Burn)
  • 4-8 Block
  • 4-7 Slash (On Hit: Inflict 2 Burn)
• (5) Freezerburn (Mass Summation)
  • Combat Start: If an ally is playing a page with the same name, all dice on this page inflict 1 Feeble and Disarm on hit.
  • 9-21 Blunt (On Hit: Inflict 4 Burn)
• (1) Bumblebee
  • Combat Start: If an ally is playing a page with the same name, restore 3 Light at the end of the Scene.
  • 3-8 Slash
  • 2-6 Counter Blunt
• (4) Ignite
  • On Use: Exhaust. Spend all Rage. Gain Strength each Scene equal to the amount of Rage spent until this character is Staggered. Lose 30% of max Stagger Resist each Scene until this character is Staggered.
  • 3-7 Block
  • 8-16 Blunt (On Hit: Inflict [Emotion Level + 1] Burn.)
• (3) Rocket Punch (Ranged)
  • 3-7 Block
  • 4-8 Blunt (On Hit: Inflict 2 Burn)
  • 4-9 Blunt (On Hit: Inflict 2 Burn)

Ruby herself is the only survivor. Her Silver Eyes triggering again and again at the deaths of her teammates, eventually result in the Library automatically booting her out as a sort of defense mechanism. Post-reception, Angela promises that it won't happen again, and if the girl returns, she'll prevent any kind of escape with such a mechanism.

Spoiler: Reception of Team JNPR

For most intents and purposes, this reception takes place on tier one of Star of the City, expecting you to have all the tools you receive on said tier. Ruby is a wreck after her entire team dying in the Library, shutting herself in RWBY's dorm and refusing to leave. Jaune, eventually, goes to try and help her out before she's evicted, revealing that he, too, received an invitation to the Library. His team was planning on heading there, hoping to retrieve RWBY's books and try to restore them. He asks if she wants to come along.

In the Library, Pyrrha recognizes Angela as a machine and has a spirited discussion about destiny and choice, before once again being thrown onto the killing floor.

Spoiler: Jaune's Page

Jaune's Page

HP: 104 (57)
SR: 104 (57)

Speed: Speed Dice Slot +1. (Cannot Overlap)

Aura: Damage resistances remain "Immune" until Staggered, at which point they return to normal for the remainder of the reception. Stagger Resist is not recovered if an Act ends.

Crocea Mors: Block Dice +1 Power.

Deck:

• (5) Vanguard
  • On Play: Exhaust. All other allies become untargetable this Scene. Gain 2 Stagger Protection and Endurance.
• (2) Hasty Defense
  • On Use: Draw 1 page.
  • 3-8 Counter Block
  • 3-7 Counter Block
• (3) Arkos
  • Combat Start: If an ally is playing a page with the same name, all Defensive dice on this page gain +2 Power.
  • 6-13 Block (On Clash Win: Draw 1 page)
  • 2-8 Slash
  • 3-8 Counter Block
• (3) Pomegrenade
• Combat Start: If an ally is playing a page with the same name, all Defensive dice on this page gain +2 power.
  • 5-9 Block
  • 4-9 Block
  • 7-8 Blunt

Spoiler: Nora's Page

Nora's Page

HP: 100 (55)
SR: 100 (55)

Ranged: Can use Ranged Combat Pages.

Speed: Speed Dice Slot +1. (Cannot Overlap)

Aura: Damage resistances remain "Immune" until Staggered, at which point they return to normal for the remainder of the reception. Stagger Resist is not recovered if an Act ends.

Maghnild: Blunt Dice Power +1. Blunt damage +1.

High Voltage: Gain Strength and Disarm equal to half the number of stacks of Charge on self at the end of the Scene. If user has 5 or more Charge, deal Stagger damage to self equal to twice the stacks of Charge at the end of the Scene. If user has 8 or more Charge, deal Stagger damage to self equal to four times the stacks of Charge at the end of the scene.

Deck:

• (2) Thunderous Blow
  • On Use: Purge all Charge. Gain 2 Charge.
  • 6-11 Blunt
  • 3-5 Block
• (3) Pomegrenade
  • Combat Start: If an ally is playing a page with the same name, all Offensive dice on this page gain +7 power.
  • 7-11 Blunt
  • 4-5 Block
• (2) Flower Power
  • Combat Start: If an ally is playing a page with the same name, all Offensive dice on this page deal 50% more damage and Stagger damage and gain +1 power.
  • 3-8 Block
  • 5-10 Blunt

Spoiler: Pyrrha's Page

Pyrrha's Page

HP: 120 (60)
SR: 120 (60)

Ranged: Can use Ranged Combat Pages.

Speed III: Speed Dice Slot +1. Gain an additional Speed die at Emotion Level 3. (Cannot Overlap)

Aura: Damage resistances remain "Immune" until Staggered, at which point they return to normal for the remainder of the reception. Stagger Resist is not recovered if an Act ends.

Miló & Akoúo̱: All dice gain +1 Power. Deal +1 Stagger damage with attacks.

The Invincible Girl: If a die targeting this character rolls the maximum value, reroll it. Activates once per die. If Emotion Level is 3 or higher at the end of the Scene, enhance this passive.

Destiny: Untransferable. At the end of the Scene, if the user has less than 10 Stagger Resist, add a copy of Destiny to hand. The first time this happens per Act, reduce its cost to 0.

Deck:

• (4) Pyrrhic Victory
  • 4-11 Slash
  • 3-11 Blunt
  • 4-10 Pierce
  • 3-7 Counter Slash
• (7) Destiny (Mass Individual)
  • 3-9 Blunt
  • 3-9 Blunt
  • 4-10 Blunt
• (3) Arkos
  • Combat Start: If an ally is playing a page with the same name, all dice on this page gain +2 power.
  • 3-7 Block
  • 5-11 Pierce (On Clash Win: Draw 1 page)
  • 2-6 Counter Blunt
• (3) Pomegrenade
  • Combat Start: If an ally is playing a page with the same name, all Defensive dice on this page gain +2 power.
  • 5-9 Block
  • 4-9 Block
  • 7-8 Blunt

Spoiler: Ren's Page

Ren's Page

HP: 98 (53)
SR: 98 (53)

Ranged: Can use Ranged Combat Pages.

Speed: Speed Dice Slot +1. (Cannot Overlap)

Aura: Damage resistances remain "Immune" until Staggered, at which point they return to normal for the remainder of the reception. Stagger Resist is not recovered if an Act ends.

Stormflower: When using a page with 3 or more non-Counter dice, all dice on the page gain +1 Power and deal +1 Stagger damage.

Tranquility: Opponents clashing with this character generate no Emotion Coins.

Deck:

• (1) Quiet Strife (Ranged)
  • On Use: Draw 1 page.
  • 2-6 Pierce
  • 3-6 Pierce
  • 2-6 Pierce
• (2) Flower Power (Ranged)
  • Combat Start: If an ally is playing a page with the same name, all Offensive dice on this page inflict 2 Fragile this Scene on hit.
  • 4-6 Pierce
  • 3-7 Pierce
  • 4-6 Evade

Spoiler: Ruby's Page

Ruby's page is largely identical to her previous appearance. She's gained about 10 HP and SR, and some of her pages have some slightly better rolls. Her bread-and-butter Unity Combat Pages haven't changed much though, which sucks for her--none of her teammates are around to help her out.

• (3) Scatter (Mass Individual)
  • 4-5 Slash
  • 4-8 Slash (On Hit: Gain 1 Haste)
• (7) Blinding Light (Mass-Summation)
  • 9-15 Slash (On Hit: Immobilize target next Scene).

This time, there are two survivors: Pyrrha forcefully drags Ruby away from the battlefield after one too many Blinding Lights. And it turns out: both of them might be Distorting: Pyrrha's wounds are leaking ash. And Ruby's Crescent Rose is changing shape. Regardless, they've got nowhere to go but forward, so they give each other a pep talk and charge back into the fray for Act 2.

Spoiler: Ruby's Page

Ruby's gotten some substantial upgrades: Her HP and Stagger Resist has jumped up to 115, her Combat Pages have received yet another upgrade (also Coordinated Assault), and she's gained both Shimmering and a completely new passive. Starts with four Speed Dice, and plays obnoxiously high-cost pages every Scene. Also stole Coordinated Assault from Xiao and Miris.

Momentum: Upon winning a clash, gain 1 Momentum, capped at 3. (Momentum: Gain +1 Power to all dice for every two stacks of Momentum. On a one-sided attack, lose 1 Momentum. Upon losing a clash, lose all Momentum.)

• (3) Scatter (Mass Individual)
  • 3-3 Slash
  • 4-5 Slash
  • 5-8 Slash (On Hit: Gain 1 Haste)
• (7) Blinding Light (Mass-Summation)
  • 13-19 Slash (On Hit: Immobilize target next Scene)
• (3) Coordinated Assault
  • Combat Start: Give 1 Strength, 2 Protection, and 2 Stagger Protection to a random other ally.
  • 5-8 Blunt
  • 5-9 Block
  • 4-7 Pierce

Spoiler: Pyrrha's Page

Pyrrha's much the same as Ruby, except she got even buffer. Her HP and Stagger Resist are now at a respectable 175, she's gained both Shimmering and a completely new passive, and her Invincible Girl has upgraded to its true form: Polarity. Starts with four Speed Dice, and plays obnoxiously high-cost pages every Scene. Also stole Coordinated Assault from Xiao and Miris.

Final Pyre: Inflict 1-2 Burn on hit. When hit, inflict 1-2 Burn to the attacker. Offensive dice gain +1 Power against targets with Burn.

Polarity: All dice targeting this character lose 1 Power. If a die targeting this character rolls the maximum value, reroll it. Activates once per die.

• (3) Coordinated Assault
  • Combat Start: Give 1 Strength, 2 Protection, and 2 Stagger Protection to a random other ally.
  • 5-8 Blunt
  • 5-9 Block
  • 4-7 Pierce

Pyrrha bites it this time, leaving Ruby all alone. She monologues for a bit, argues with Carmen, and eventually pushes through with her natural anime protagonist willpower, fully manifesting her E.G.O.. She will save her friends, or die trying. Cue the final Act, and the true boss fight of the encounter.

Spoiler: Ruby's Page

Ruby's Page

HP: 320
SR: 320

Shimmering: At the start of each Scene, exhaust all pages in hand and deck; add new pages to hand. Fully restore Light each Scene.

Speed VI: Speed Dice Slot +3. Gain an additional Speed Die at Emotion Levels 1 and 3. (Cannot Overlap)

Aura: Damage resistances remain "Immune" until Staggered, at which point they return to normal for the remainder of the reception. Stagger Resist is not recovered if an Act ends.

Crescent Rose (Silver): Slash Dice Power +1, Ranged Dice Power +2. Each Scene, a random Dust status effect is applied to this character. After winning three or more clashes with a single Combat Page, the opponent is Immobilized next Scene.

Petal Burst: Choose the Speed dice with the highest value; the Speed values of the dice are increased by three.

Momentum: Upon winning a clash, gain 1-2 Momentum, capped at 6. (Momentum: Gain +1 Power to all dice for every two stacks of Momentum. On a one-sided attack, lose 1 Momentum. Upon losing a clash, lose all Momentum.)

Silver Eyes: Uses unique Memory pages each round. Each time seven unique Memory pages are used, a Mass Attack page is added to hand and discounted by this character's current Emotion Level.

Shining Cloak: Purge all status ailments from self at the end of every other Scene. Every Scene, a random Stagger damage resistance becomes Ineffective for one Scene.

Deck:

• (1) Memory: Weiss (Ranged)
  • Combat Start: All dice gain "On Hit: Inflict 1 Bind and Paralysis" this Scene.
  • 2-8 Pierce
  • 3-7 Pierce
  • 5-11 Blunt (On Hit: Inflict 1 Feeble next Scene.)
• (1) Memory: Blake
  • Combat Start: All dice apply Dust effects On Clash Win this Scene.
  • 6-9 Evade
  • 3-12 Evade
  • 4-4 Slash (Recycle this die three times.)
• (2) Memory: Yang
  • Combat Start: All dice gain "On Clash Lose: Inflict 1 Burn to each other" this Scene.
  • 3-7 Block
  • 9-17 Blunt (On Hit: Gain Strength next Scene equal to half the stacks of Burn on this character.)
• (1) Memory: Jaune
  • Combat Start: Boost Defensive dice power by +1 this Scene.
  • 4-9 Counter Block
  • 4-8 Counter Block
• (1) Memory: Nora
  • Combat Start: Spend all Charge. All dice gain "On Hit: Gain 1 Charge" this Scene.
  • 7-12 Blunt (On Hit: Spend all Charge to gain Strength equal to half the amount of Charge spent.)
  • 3-5 Block
• (1) Memory: Ren (Ranged)
  • Combat Start: Clashing with this character does not generate Emotion Coins this Scene.
  • 3-7 Pierce
  • 4-7 Pierce
  • 3-7 Pierce
• (2) Memory: Pyrrha
  • Combat Start: Boost all dice power by +1 this Scene.
  • 4-11 Slash
  • 3-11 Blunt
  • 4-10 Pierce
  • 2-6 Counter Slash
• (2) Scatter (Mass Individual)
  • All dice on this page gain "On Hit: Gain 2 Momentum."
  • 3-3 Slash
  • 4-5 Slash
  • 6-8 Slash (On Hit: Gain 1 Haste)
  • 8-8 Slash
• (1) Trails of Silver
  • Dice on this page and the page clashing with it are unaffected by power gain or loss.
  • 8-14 Slash (If this die would lose in a clash, destroy the last die on this page and reroll it with +5 maximum value).
  • 5-7 Block
  • 3-7 Counter Slash
• (1) Silver Bullets (Ranged)
  • 3-8 Pierce
  • 4-8 Pierce
  • 7-11 Blunt (On Hit: Immobilize target next Scene).
• (7) Blinding Light (Mass-Summation)
  • 17-23 Slash (On Hit: Immobilize target next Scene).

Three words: Momentum. Immobilization. A shitton of status effects.

E.G.O. Ruby starts with 5 maximum Light capacity and four Speed Dice, the last of which is dedicated to playing her personal cards—Scatter, Trails of Silver, Silver Bullets, and Blinding Light whenever it is available. When she reaches Emotion Level 4, a second die is devoted to using her personal cards. The remaining dice attempt to play as many Memory cards as will fit within her Light capacity, prioritizing unique ones over previously-used ones. She will never play Memory: Nora and Memory: Yang in the same Scene.

This usually means that Blinding Light will first get out on Scene 4, and every three Scenes thereafter. Given it's got a fat roll and immobilizes on hit, that's probably a good thing.

 

[breakingamber]

Bad Luck Charm 5.3

"...I'm sorry."

Qrow opens his mouth again, but nothing comes out. Lost for words. You look him dead on, wondering if that's all he's got.

Not that you're much better. You're the one that escalated things, not him. As it turns out. You feel like shit, and not just because you got impaled by a shitton of icicles and punched about by, as it turns out, a Huntsman slightly better than a Grade 2 Fixer.

You almost killed a guy over a simple misunderstanding. He'd been operating under the exact rules you thought he had: a simple spar, with no malice behind it on either side. There had been no miscommunication after all. Sure, he'd shot you in the stomach. But apparently, that sort of thing was the norm here. Aura was bullshit for its seemingly nonexistent price. And then you'd taken things up a notch and tried to take his head off.

This whole mess really is your fault. You're the veteran Fixer, here. Sure, Qrow's probably older than you, maybe has more experience than you, but he's not a fucking Color. Should've had more self-restraint, kept your cool long enough for at least an explanation. He'd been as shocked as you, in that moment of impact.

Just…hell. You weren't thinking.

"I'm the one that should be apologizing here," you eventually reply, shifting about uncomfortably in your rocky prison. "Thought you were pulling some underhanded bullshit. Seemed like the type. Sorry."

Qrow chuckles awkwardly. "Well, you're not far off the mark. I'm no stranger to fighting dirty. And I should have taken Glynda seriously, when she said you couldn't unlock Aura. Didn't consider what that actually meant."

The woman herself, off to the side, sighs. "I did warn you."

"Yeah, maybe," Qrow snipes back, "but you also went on for so long about how dangerous she is, I almost thought you had a crush. Can see why, though. Darn."

Is he… hitting on you? Fuck. Bad enough that Daniel does it. You want to beat him over the head again. To his credit, he seems to realize this, hastily moving on.

"Anyway… whaddya say we call this even. Gods know I don't need more enemies. And you… Glynda says you want to get home, to your other dimension."

You do. But, come to think of it, you might have bigger problems at the moment. Mostly your own impending mortality. It's been weighing on you.

Still, you answer: "Yeah. I'm fine letting bygones be bygones. Start fresh."

Qrow looks to the side, at an unseen Glynda. Apparently, whatever unspoken communication is good enough for the two of them, because the rocks that have been burying you lift up and off, the telekinetic hold over your body easing. You sit up, doing a bit of damage analysis.

Your tussle with Qrow left some bruises. Glynda's impromptu hailstorm sliced you up a bit. And of course, your stomach aches where Qrow shot you. At least the bleeding's mostly stopped. Qrow notices it, winces in what might be sympathy.

"Do you need treatment for that?" Glynda asks, morbidly curious.

On one hand, you would. But you've got a bad feeling that Remnant literally doesn't possess the ability to help you, in this area. Without a natural healing factor, most medical treatments you know simply don't work. Which means you'll need a Singularity, or the like. And given Aura and its ubiquitous healing properties… you doubt the technology on Remnant has advanced enough for such a thing.

"I'll live," you eventually reply. "Hurts like a bitch, but that's life."

Wordlessly, Qrow unbuckles his flask from his belt, unscrews the top, and hands it out towards you with all the sanctity of a holy relic. Alcohol, as expected. And not the weak shit.

…Ah, fuck it. You deserve a drink.


When Kali finishes drowning her problems, she'll have questions. Which ones? Choose two topics to discuss.

• [ ] Beacon Academy
• [ ] Glynda
• [ ] Qrow
• [ ] Vale
• [ ] Grimm
• [ ] Names
• [ ] Healing
• [ ] Huntsmen
• [ ] Write-in.

---

A/N: As stated, this chapter was like pulling teeth. We'll go with this for now, and we'll be back on the road. I'm still not exactly happy with it. Something about every single character in it feels intangibly off. Not introspecty enough. If I weren't this Quest's writer, and instead an impartial reader, I'd be even more dissatisfied. But I'm so sick and tired of staring at Bad Luck Charm 5.3 that we'll be moving on regardless. Something is likely better than nothing.

I might actually come back and edit this later, depending.

Much to my own chagrin, I guess I'm still allowing write-ins.

Does anybody ship Gebura/Chesed? Out of sheer curiosity? I've not seen a single fic for it.

 

[breakingamber]

Bad Luck Charm 5.4

"...So, not that this isn't fun and all… dulling the pain is great. Great. But do you have any… Aura's bullshit—"

"Yeah."

"—but do you on Remnant have any other Singularities, up in here? Healing ones? Ideally? Would be great to know, considering I can't. Apparently. Xiao's lungs looking okay last I checked… she having the same problem? Fucking Aura…won't work for me…"

Didn't take long for you to go through Qrow's whole flask; was half-empty to begin with. Qrow had generously offered to pay for more (somewhat cheaper) booze, and you weren't going to turn him down. Qrow's favorite watering hole was pretty close as it turned out: fittingly named the Crow Bar. And Qrow was, apparently, loaded enough that he could buy several rounds of expensive(?) brandy for the both of you without the mustachioed bartender hesitating.

Glynda, straight-laced, hadn't joined you. Though, as parting words, she'd warned you: to keep hush-hush about Qrow's whole 'turning into a bird' thing. Apparently it was a secret? It was weird, even by your standards, but at the end of the day you didn't care. She'd also asked to meet up another time tomorrow, with less Qrow involved. You agreed to 11:00, and so she had gone.

Anyway. You'd gotten to maybe a bit more drinking than was wise. He'd told you about one of his misadventures with Grimm, bragged about being 'the best Huntsman in Vale'. You'd told him a little bit about the City, and he'd reacted promptly by vomiting. That was probably the shots, though. You were just talking about Fixer grades, not anything gruesome. Though frankly you don't even think the gruesome would make him vomit.

Anyway, one thing had led to another, and here you were, rambling about Singularities and other bullshit. Qrow looks up sometime during your spiel, eyes somehow both narrowed and unfocused, completely and utterly sloshed.

"Xiao…Longs? Whash Yang and Tai gotta do with this… No, wait. You mean Xiao," Qrow says, stumbling his way through every sentence. "She seemed fine, tired though. Redhead—Miris. Miris said she was healing fine, yeah. As for… Singularity? Like a robot apocalypse?"

You scoff. "Robots? No. The Head wouldn't allow that. I mean, like… crazy superscience. Kinda stuff that makes you a trillionaire—quadrillionaire—for patenting it. Time travel. Key. Whatever the fuck… O Corp's got going on. Stuff like that. K Corp's was some green healling slime. Anything like Aura? Physics-breaking… bullshit? Magic, even."

Qrow mulls it over, sloshing his glass back and forth. Like a metronome. "Uh… Semblances. Most of 'em make no sense. Glynda moves stuff with her mind. Oz slows—slowed… slowed down time. Jimmy becomes an idiot. There's healing Semblances. Couldn't tell you about magic, but maybe there's something out there for you. Why d'you ask?"

"I'm dying."

The words are out of your lips before you can really think about them. You regret them instantly.

"...Fuck. I've had too much to drink. Ignore that."

Qrow doesn't say anything, his face gone inscrutable. His hand fiddles with that strange cylinder he keeps strapped to his waist, and you can almost see the thoughts going through his head. You glare at him.

"I can handle my own problems. Seriously. Not like you can help, anyways."

"And what makes you think that?" the man asks. And the question actually gives you pause. Why can't the man help? Fuck, not like you're desperate or anything. You don't need this scruffy fucker's drunken suggestions, even though you don't really have any better ideas yourself.

…Ah, what the hell. You take a deep sip of your drink. Gonna need it.

"Okay, give me your suggestions," you eventually say. "What have you got for me."

"What's your problem?" he shoots back. "'Dying's' pretty vague."

You sigh. You can tell you're sulking, but right now, you don't care. "I don't want your pity. Just making that clear."

"Yeah, yeah. Lay it on me," Qrow says. Irreverent in tone, but rather than disrespectful, you find it reassuring. He's brushing off your warnings and your emotions, not your problem. Being more serious than you'd expect.

"Alright. Simple." You take another sip. "I'm not healing. My body's not repairing itself like it should. It closes up wounds, barely, and does nothing else. And the way I work, foes I fight, I get injured, take hits. Not something I can avoid, all the time. And if it keeps up, I'll get worn down to nothing. Only got so much blood in me."

Putting out there, out loud, even to this guy you were trying to beat the shit out of less than six hours ago… it's strangely comforting. You feel a little better. Almost like you're talking to Carmen all over again.

"Huh. That… explains that."

"What?" you say, confused at what he's referring to. But he shakes his head, continues:

"Okay, I've got some thoughts. Hear me out."

Qrow holds up a finger, suddenly seeming a lot more sober. "First. Healing Semblances. Like I said, they do exist, though they ain't exactly common. Besides, all the ones I've heard of have one major thread: they don't actually heal. They just bolster, transfer, regenerate your Aura. And since you don't have any…"

He shrugs, conclusion clear. Then continues:

"Still could be worth a shot. Maybe you'll find the exception. But let's move on, for now. Next up is… Atlas. The most successful Kingdom on Remnant, arguably. The people on top of the world."

The way he speaks, reminds you of the way most people talk about Nestdwellers, feathers of Wings. Like they're too good for 'em. You figure this 'Atlas' has got to be Remnant's equivalent, somehow. And while your gut's inclined to agree with Qrow's implied message: that they're stuck-up rich snobs that do more harm than good… if Carmen has taught you anything, it's that everyone has their own struggles. You'll put your judgment aside for now.

"'S much as they're a bunch of arrogant sellouts, they've genuinely got some innovation going on, in the Atlas military. Heard they've developed a prototype for Aura transfer and cryogenic freezing, which could help you out. If those eggheads can give a robot a soul, maybe they've got one of those 'Singularities' tucked away, somewhere."

Good news. But there's got to be a catch. There's always a catch.

"Problem is, might be difficult to get there, even harder to get them to help you. After the Fall of Beacon, the esteemed General Ironwood's shut down Atlas's borders. No one gets in. And no one gets out. I could write you a letter of recommendation. But there's no guarantee that the officials in charge of the blockade would accept it, unless I was there with you to make sure things went… smoothly."

Huh. It really is like a Nest. Even if Remnant is, on the whole, nicer than the City, seems like people are still the same everywhere. Tied up in bureaucracy and paranoia.

Still, that sounds almost exactly like what you've been looking for. Atlas might have the technology to deal with your augmented body, or otherwise the Singularity bullshit to… yeah, you don't know how Aura works. You barely know how the Cogito Singularity works, and you've been working alongside experts for years.

Qrow's not quite done, though. You'll hear him out.

"Third: Magic. Don't laugh, hear me out."

You cock your head, curious. "What? Why would I? I may not understand magic, but I know it exists."

That was kind of the whole point, if you remember correctly. Daniel recently theorized (at length, the pompous bastard) that magic was just a Singularity that mankind didn't understand yet. Eventually, some smartass would crack the code and probably build a Wing out of it, somehow. You'd told him to shut up, seeing as he didn't have any actual experience on the topic.

Meanwhile, you do. You've explored the Outskirts, pounded in the faces of dozens of mythical creatures and brought back strange relics to sell or scrap. From self-replenishing vats of healing tree sap to strange blank portraits, most of which denied Carmen's comprehension and eventually ended up in a storage bin somewhere. And you'll say: that smartass better be real damned smart.

"Okay… that makes you smarter than ninety percent of the people on the planet. Most folks don't believe in old stories anymore. See them as grandiose symbols of an old and irrelevant age. But, as Oz once said, most contain a kernel of truth. At worst, a lesson to be learned. And at times… something a little more than just a lesson."

"There are things, out there, that no Semblance or technology or Dust can explain. Ancient artifacts with strange powers. An invisibility cloak, a crown that can tell the future, even weapons to control the Grimm… Not much to go off of, I know."

You sigh a deep sigh. The alcohol leaves a bitter taste in your mouth—moreso than usual. Qrow's a good storyteller, but he can't disguise the truth of the situation: unless you get really fucking lucky, this is probably a dead end. Myths are myths for a reason. "That's… about what I expected. Dug up my fair share of magic, too. Gotten stabbed by it more times than I can count. Don't suppose these artifacts are conveniently sitting out in the open, though."

Qrow shakes his head. "Nope. But, if you know where to look—and I do—you might find something. Your best bet is Mistral, the oldest kingdom still on Remnant. Gods know what kind of stuff they've got lying around, there."

This whole conversation has been informative. You're glad. Maybe he's just being helpful to get in your good graces, to call in a favor later, to weasel something out of you. But you're grateful. And now that you've gotten to know the man a bit better, your instincts state: he's not that kind of person. He's no Vermillion Cross, paragon of chivalry and faith and whathaveyou, clearly. But he's, by and large, a good person. Better than most in the City, at any rate.

Something occurs to you, vaguely. "Hey. This… You've mentioned that person. 'Oz'. Someone you looked up to?"

Qrow doesn't reply immediately, choosing instead to guzzle some more brand—no, it's vodka, now (when did that happen?). You've touched upon a sore spot.

A solid thirty seconds later, he finally puts down the bottle and responds, rote: "Ozpin was the Headmaster of Beacon Academy. Best guy I've ever known."

"Glynda's predecessor, then?"

A snort of laughter. "Glynda's not the headmaster of much, nowadays. But yeah. I suppose. She used to be his number two. If we couldn't use him right now…"

His tone turns melancholy, fills with obvious grief.

Something clicks, and you have to hold back a chortle. This guy… Greatsword, scythe, red and black theming. Complete and absolute faith in one amazing individual. Wouldn't be surprised if he was the best Huntsman on the continent. And a shocking dedication to doing what's right. This guy's the Remnant-equivalent of you. No wonder you came to blows.

In a sense, it bodes well for you. If this guy is the greatest Huntsman that this world has to offer, you shouldn't have too many troubles with the rest.

You glance towards the television in the corner, sleeker than anything you had in the City. It's showing a still image of Beacon Tower, some news story. You're suddenly curious. And Qrow seems like he could use a change of subject.

"What's the whole deal with Beacon Academy, anyway? A Huntsman Academy, Glynda said? What does one learn, as a 'Huntsman'? How to fight?"

Qrow barks. "Among other things. How to fight Grimm and rogue Huntsmen alike. Weapon maintenance and Dust blending. And, of course. History. The kids do still need an education, after all. Taking students from all walks of life means teaching them all what they need to know, what they didn't necessarily learn, beyond the Kingdoms' borders."

Trailing off, he, much like Glynda, mutters something under his breath about oobleck before continuing. You're starting to wonder what the fuck about oobleck is so important to Remnant's history.

"You go in at seventeen, come out at nineteen, having hopefully learned enough to survive. And maybe, if you're charitable, to help others survive. You get support from the Academy for another two after that, help with weapons supply, assistance from the professors, so long as you stick with your team. But after that, you're on your own for real. I take it you Fixers don't have such luxuries?"

If only. "Fixers… It's a cold world. If you're lucky, you have a relative, a friend, who can teach you the ropes. If you're very lucky, you impress someone with experience, and they might take you under their wing. Most times, you're left to figure shit out by yourself. What requests will get you killed, what Office to join, what augments to purchase… it's almost luck of the draw if you survive past Grade 6."

Qrow nods, not having much more to say or otherwise keeping quiet.

The two of you have a mostly-amiable afternoon, afterward. You exchange Scroll numbers, Qrow pays for the drinks. And he staggers out of the bar, apparently wanting to visit his niece and teammate—the Xiao Longs he'd drunkenly mentioned earlier. You, too, head back to your apartment to sleep off all the alcohol you've consumed, grabbing some street food on the way back.

All in all… It's not the worst day you've had. You got some solid ideas for your next heading. Some better and some more difficult than others, but that's life.

---

The next day, you discover that Scrolls have a text to speech function, completely by accident: Qrow sent you a message early this morning (still can't read), you fumbled a couple of buttons, and suddenly it was being read out loud by a vaguely computerized voice. "Come to the docks by 11:00 AM. I want your opinion on something. Please. - Qrow".

Interesting. Unfortunately, there is a clear scheduling conflict. You agreed to report in to Glynda at that time.

You… suppose you should probably pick one or the other.


[ ] Go see what Qrow is up to.

[ ] Report in with Glynda.

---

A/N: So I said I was prepared to cover these topics. In hindsight, I wasn't quite prepared to discuss them in this drunken, half-conscious manner. But that's more writing style than anything else, so… yeah. So it goes.

This chapter ended up being way longer than I expected, and once again I had to cut it short. Sucks, but that's the gig. At least I'm still prepared for both choices; I simply had expected it to be a little later.

And it's late. By almost three hours. Son of a bitch.

 

[breakingamber]

Emotional Turbulence 6.1

Yeah… You can put off the Glynda thing. Probably. You're still hungover as all fuck, not to mention all the new sores from yesterday's skirmish. Whatever Qrow's up to, you hope it doesn't involve being smart. Using your head. You're… not in shape for that. Give it another couple hours. And a meal or two.

You fumble with the Scroll menus until you get a phone icon next to Glynda's face and tap it. It starts ringing, so you're pretty sure it worked. Sure enough, the woman herself picks up seconds later, her voice ringing clear through a slight pattering of rain:

"Hello?"

"Hey, this is Kali. Qrow wants me for something, so I'm going to have to miss our appointment. Can we—"

The headmistress cuts you off: "I already know; Qrow told me earlier this morning. Go ahead. We'll figure something out later. Can I let you go?"

You're briefly surprised at the curt tone. Then you hear, faintly, the sounds of gnashing bones, the telltale whirls of Glynda's Semblance. You can almost see the purple; you've seen far too much of it recently.

…Hold on. Did she seriously answer a phone—sorry, Scroll call—in the middle of combat?

The line goes dead a moment later. She hung up on you. Didn't even wait for your response.

Eh. With that obligation taken care of, you've got about an hour. You'll get something to eat.

---

A good sandwich and some cheap but tolerable coffee (you can hear Daniel's laughter) later, you feel slightly less like warmed-over death. Good timing. Time to see what the fuck Qrow wants.

It's still lightly drizzling out. Water dampens your hair and clothes. And you realize that you're feeling antsy. Like you need to move, do more than just sit around and think. You've always preferred action. The ticking timer on your life has been good for that. It's been nice, here. But you need to get off your ass and move forward.

You don't think you'll be staying in Vale for much longer.

The docks are… certainly large, derelict. Haven't been used for a while. Water patters over the surface of a roiling ocean and shipping containers sit around, probably empty and useless. You slip through a fence and make your way inside. Shouldn't be far now, you hope.

And yeah. You turn another random corner, and by luck or by choice, Qrow's there. As expected.

So are Xiao and Miris. You really want to know what the fuck Qrow wants with all of you, now. An opinion?

"Glad you could make it," he says, and you note that there is absolutely no slurring to his voice, nothing to indicate he's not at his best. Sober. "Xiao over here said you couldn't read, and at that time… well, Scroll broke again, and heck if I remembered your number."

The woman herself speaks up. You note the new sword she's using as a cane: a red Shi blade. Not standard for Liu Fixers, but given she's friends with Yujin… you guess it's not out of the question she'd know how to use it. 'sides. A sword is a sword. Probably.

"Kali. You've met Qrow, I believe?"

You nod. He clears his throat, continues:

"Anyway, I'm heading out tomorrow. And figured I should get some errands with you… travelers taken care of. Forge some documentation, write letters of recommendation, whatever needs doing. And in return…"

His hand fingers his massive sword, folded up on his back this time.

"If what you told me is correct, Kali over there is the best of the best. Strongest 'Fixer' in the 'City'. And if your guesses about other travelers are correct… I'm gonna need to test that. Hate to get caught unawares."

Qrow's eyes turn to you, this time. There's something written in there, and you can't quite tell what it is.

"Feel free to step in if you feel things are getting out of hand. Fighting to Aura break, no holds barred otherwise. I should be in good enough shape for the both of them—one after the other. Xiao and Miris should have monitors—mine is, obviously, still locked up. And, if you'll remember what I told you yesterday… you should probably figure out what you're doing by the end of this. Like I said: I'll be gone tomorrow. And while Glynda's got some pull, she's not got nearly as much as me."

You nod like you know what you're doing, still not quite understanding what he wants from you here. Either way, it ceases to matter shortly: Qrow extends his sword and takes a battle stance. Miris walks away from Xiao towards his opponent, Aura flickering around him. The pitter-patter of rain continues.

Qrow… doesn't seem like the type to make the same mistake twice in a row. While you'll still keep an eye on the match, if only to see how Huntsmen fight from the outside, you're pretty sure it won't come to any kind of serious injury, or at least not one the combatants haven't agreed to. Xiao holds a Scroll out in front of her, showing Miris's face and a green bar with numbers above it. You assume that's the monitor Qrow was talking about.

Hm. If Qrow and Miris are going to be sparring for the next couple minutes (you're pretty sure you know who the victor will be), you suppose you could make small talk. She looks good, for someone that recently tanked the Great Split Vertical.


[ ] Conversation topics with Xiao? (Pick two.)

• [ ] Yourself
• [ ] Herself
• [ ] Yujin
• [ ] The laboratory
• [ ] Remnant
• [ ] Plans
• [ ] Lowell
• [ ] Miris
• [ ] Aura
• [ ] E.G.O.
• [ ] Write-in

---

A/N: And we're back. Sorry for the long time (jeez, a month? ugggh) between updates; real life got hectic pretty quickly, not to mention I was having difficulty finding motivation to write. And… yeah. This rant is going to be envious as fuck.

PM's kind of a niche fandom, I'm well aware. I never expected any sort of major numbers on this Quest. And I always figured that overlap between PM and any other given work is… even rarer. There's a large market on SV for PMMM shit, so I kind of assumed that Naron's Quest, Lepidoptera's Quest… yeah, whatever, right? My issue isn't that my writing's terrible, it's that there's no overlap between the grimdark magitek hellhole of the City and the nobledark magitek wasteland of Remnant. Fair and reasonable.

Then Bloody Evolution blows up and becomes larger than this piddly piece before the first vote even finishes. And I have to ask myself: okay, clearly I'm missing something here, what is it?

I'm still not sure on the answer, myself. It could easily be writing style, prior experience (Naron's got a great track record), inclusion of more popular characters, w/e. But at this point, it doesn't really matter. I'm planning on finishing this. We'll see how it goes.

Anyway, yeah. Moving on.

Finally, a time to ask questions to Xiao specifically. Unfortunately, this fight's not going to be a long one. You only get two. This is likely to be the last time you get to talk to people from the City for a good while. Make it good.

I'll finish the next chapter of A Hat in Nine/Cobalt/Sword of Volition another day.

 

[breakingamber]

Emotional Turbulence 6.2

Seeing two Aura users in action against each other. It's giving you an idea of how fights on Remnant might play out. All-or-nothing clashes. Huntsmen either fight at their best or they do not fight at all. Injury is no longer a factor as long as Aura remains. You'll need to remember to keep that in mind.

One of your favorite tactics will no longer work. In the City, almost nothing could stand up to a horizontal sweep with your full power behind it. Even the strongest Fixers would be left staggered and maimed, choking on a mist of their own blood. Easy pickings from there.

Huntsmen do not bleed.

The thought does leave you curious as you turn towards Xiao. Her eyes are fixed on the unfolding fight, concerned for Miris's safety.

What kind of woman must she be, to ascend to Director of the Association of all-out war? To earn the undying loyalty of so many Liu Fixers, Miris among them? To manifest her own E.G.O with no Abnormality assistance required, something Carmen once said should be impossible?

"Xiao," you begin, meeting her red-eyed gaze, "you manifested E.G.O., back in the forest. How did that happen? What do you know about it?"

Her brow furrows, though she doesn't turn to you. "E.G.O… the source of your power. And the reason that you were made a Color Fixer. Most of what I know comes from Miris, who in turn learned it from you. The only difference in our mutual understanding: I believe it is also called 'Psychoment', according to Hana. Though information more solid than a mirage is—was difficult to obtain."

The term is unfamiliar to you, but it does seem fitting. Equipment manifested from the psyche. Psychoment. As far as wordplay goes, it's not worse than Carmen's silly name. You still prefer hers.

Xiao isn't finished.

"As for how I came to possess it, 'manifest' it… It happened in that hellish Library. After Section 1 was wiped out to a man, after Miris…"

She hesitates, closing her eyes. Grief and regret clearly war across her face. And for a moment, you think she will clam up entirely. Silence reigns, punctuated only by Qrow and Miris's quiet grunts of exertion. Steel thudding against flesh, the swishes of rain interrupted.

But eventually, her face smoothes, eyes opening with a strange, new kind of determination.

"Apologies. These memories may be painful. But they are entirely mine to bear. I should not run away from them."

Before you can so much as open your mouth, whether to reassure or… anything else, you dunno, Xiao plows ahead with her recounting, voice steady.

"You know why I entered the Library. A truly selfish desire: to retrieve Lowell's book. Many Fixers of Section 1 followed me. And all of them perished. Moths, diving into a flame burning brightly for someone else. And seeing them fall, die, and burst into books, the same way Lowell must have done not so long ago… I began having doubts. Guilt, piling up in my mind. And when Miris pulled me away, faster than I could react, it gave me time to think.

"That was the worst part."

You understand. It's no secret. Stray thoughts are the most dangerous thing when trying to manifest your E.G.O.. And Xiao, in this strange prototype stage that shouldn't even be possible…

"It was Miris that reminded me. That he, Chun, and everyone else. That I had stepped down as the Director of Section 1, and held no more power over them. And that they had chosen to assist me, for whatever reason. Faith? Hope? Charity? It didn't matter."

"Perhaps, if that voice, charming and otherworldly, had spoken to me mere moments earlier, in that despair-filled state of mind, I may have made a different decision. But I digress."

A voice…?

"No one can fault your best. Rest, Pyrrha Nikos."

"Carmen?" you whisper, too quiet for even Miris to hear.

"No, back up a moment," you say, your own voice somehow urgent yet distant. "What kind of voice? What do you mean?"

You need an answer. You need this answer. You didn't know that you did. But this… has become the single most important thing you can even think of. All-consuming.

"It must have been in my head; Miris heard nothing, despite standing right next to me. But I did not imagine it. It was unfamiliar to me, and yet I knew: this speaker was the wisest person in the world. Perhaps incorrect, but the experience in her words was unmistakable."

"I would want to be a person with a beautiful voice, like the wisest person in the world."

Carmen. It has to be Carmen. How could it be Carmen? Carmen, Carmen, Carmen…

You didn't see it personally. That porcelain pool of guilt and despair. Where her lifeblood spilled out and nobody saw until it was too late. But you see it in your nightmares, those lifeless limbs, pale hands, reaching out from within the bloody bath.

She'd never lift her head again. That bastard had taken her, to fulfill the mission she'd always preached. And, in ten years, perhaps even succeeded—But it wasn't worth it. Nothing could be worth it. Disease of the mind your ass—You'd never see her eyes, her smile. And never hear her voice. Until now. How, in all—

You wish you could have understood her better. Those fancy hypotheses and charts and graphs, units and all the science you'd simply brushed off as not your business. All that talk of wells and Cogito and—hell, you don't even know what it is, barring 'what we so desperately need to fulfill Carmen's vision'. You were there for protection.

You didn't protect jack shit. Even those that remain… you went off and died, fruitlessly. And Ayin must have gone on with the original plan. That inhumane, soulless… No. It's not his fault. He simply played his role.

You're the fucking failure. The courage to protect… you can't reach it…

"Who is Carmen?"

Xiao. Her voice. Startling.

…It could be a coincidence. Must be. Anyone could say those words. And Carmen. You know. She is dead. You should have died instead, but this is the world you live in. Well, not any longer.

You need to pull yourself together.

"An old friend of mine. You reminded me of her," you finally say, a half-truth. You're not good at those, and it shows: Xiao's eyes show suspicion. She thinks you know more. But you don't. Surely you can't. You struggle to remember what Xiao was discussing, change the topic. Heavy for small-talk, but anything is better than…

Fucking stray thoughts. You have a completely different black-haired red-eyed leader to deal with.

"What happened afterwards? Miris gave you a pep talk. Then what?" you say, turning your head back towards Qrow and Miris. A distraction.

They… are certainly still duking it out, mostly as you expected. You could tell the outcome of this fight before it began. Qrow is stronger than Miris. This was never in question.

What surprises you is how close it all is. Or, rather, isn't. Miris is a fine Fixer. But even clearly holding back, barely using the firearm built into his weapon, Qrow always holds a clear upper hand. The Liu Fixer gets some licks in, even managing to put Qrow on the back foot once or twice. But nothing ever comes of those opportunities, and his Aura continues to steadily drop, green turning yellow.

Xiao finally continues her tale. And concludes it: "There is not much more to say. Following our conversation, I found a strange power within me, coupled with some… physical alterations. I'm not one for poetry—"

That's a blatant fucking lie.

"-but I could compare it to the heat of the rising sun, followed by the light of high noon. The fire of a dragon's breath. We returned to the battlefield… and, in time, lost. That E.G.O. or Psychoment, regardless of what one calls it, was not enough."

The ex-Liu Director's eyes flick down towards the Aura monitor in front of her, then back to you.

"I have a query of my own. What do you know of the Distortion phenomenon?"

Hm. You've encountered exactly one Distortion to your knowledge. And when you'd clashed against Pyrrha, that feeling had been similar to clashing against Xiao. Fighting thoughts and emotions given form, in the form of their weaponry. There must be a link there, somewhere.

You'd asked Miris, earlier. But maybe asking straight from the source will help. This 'Distortion Phenomenon'... if it can consistently produce threats akin to the Beacon Tower specter, you ought to be prepared for it.

"Not much," you admit. "There's some link between Distortion and E.G.O., but I don't know what or how. From the one Distortion I've encountered, I get the sense that… fuck. Distortion's less pure, somehow? Tainted, maybe?"

Smoldering versus blazing. Cinders instead of dragons.

Xiao nods. "I didn't expect anything substantial. The White Nights were after your time, after all. I had still hoped you had additional insight, with your knowledge of E.G.O.. But I had surmised as much myself."

That term again. You really need to figure out what those 'White Nights' are. The source of Distortions?

A torrent of flames captures your attention for a brief moment. The sound of Miris landing a solid hit on Qrow with a flaming fist, the outline of a dragon surrounding him for a split second. The Huntsman somehow turns his momentum to his own advantage, flipping back around and resuming his offensive.

Miris's Aura is in the red. Won't be long now.

"I have fought and captured a number of Distortions, and can theorize: Distortions are created when someone fails to manifest E.G.O.. Every time I encountered one, I almost felt as if the human behind it was… lacking something. Drive, perhaps. Or maybe they had that drive, but lost it. I don't have enough evidence to say for sure."

Interesting, but ultimately unhelpful. And a slightly different interpretation than Miris's, who'd seemed to treat the two as two sides of the same coin, somehow. You still nod in thanks.

The Scroll beeps in alarm. Simultaneously, you hear Miris's Aura shatter, like the sound of breaking glass. The spar is over. You take a glance at Qrow's Aura meter, for the first time, and find that it is still healthily in the green. Less than a third depleted, if you had to estimate.

Huh.

Miris accepts his defeat with grace, and Qrow immediately retreats and relents, planting his greatsword into the ground. Xiao tucks her Scroll away into her jacket, lifting the bright red sword she was using as a cane. On closer inspection, it's not quite a Shi katana; rather, it's some kind of… elementally tempered blade. It radiates heat.

Actually. That might be just Xiao.

"I suppose it is my turn. It was a pleasure, Kali," she says.

You reply, "Yeah, thanks."

Miris takes her place as she squares off against Qrow, swinging her sword through the air experimentally. And… well. You guess you have a new conversation partner.


[ ] Conversation topics with Miris? (Pick three(?))

• [ ] Yourself
• [ ] Himself
• [ ] The laboratory
• [ ] Remnant
• [ ] Plans
• [ ] Aura
• [ ] Qrow
• [ ] White Nights
• [ ] Current events
• [ ] Write-in

---

A/N: One bombshell finally dropped. That's cool, I guess. That chapter took an annoyingly long time to research and even longer to write convincingly.

I remember when I first started this quest, I figured it'd be an easy way to blow off steam. Kali's blunt and brusque, not very poetic, should be easy to push chapters out. Then I remembered that, uh, I had these annoying things called standards. And chapter commitments got higher and higher as I struggled to keep everybody in-character, including the idiom-loving Xiao, Qrow's weirdly sarcastic bluntness, etc. Thinking's the key to writing well. And while having less time to overthink has probably been good, it's also led to a number of mistakes I've only caught in post. Embarrassing.

I don't regret it, though. This is probably the third-most successful thing I've ever written, and definitely the second-longest. That's worth something.

As for the Miris vote… I'm not entirely sure I'll be able to push out a triple-length convo within my self-imposed deadline, especially on top of, like, actually narrating Xiao vs. Qrow. But I'm willing to try. So feel free to vote for up to three different things, I'll take the top two for sure, and if I've got time I'll do the third.

I'll probably struggle with that 'vote divisiveness' concept for a good while. Don't have high hopes on being able to fix that anytime soon, given the way I write stories. Considering the 'big vote' of where the story's main focus is going to be is coming up very soon… well, here's hoping.

Is it spoilers to say that it's highly unlikely that Xiao and Miris remain major characters for the foreseeable future?

Unrelated note: Mildly interesting Library of Ruina-related fun! Lepidoptera got me curious, mentioning GôDdBỹÉ's ridiculously high maxroll. So I compiled a list of the highest average rolls in Library of Ruina.

Spoiler: Big Dice

• Angela's The Knowing I: 999
• Penitence (Realization): 666
• Remorse's Please Don't Vanish Like This (Realization): 100
• Greta's Mealtime: 100
• Punishing Bird's Punishment!: 90
• Paradise Lost's Behold My Power and Do Not Deny Me (Realization): 66
• The Forgotten's Nostalgic Embrace of the Old Days (Realization): 60
• Fourth Match Flame's Fourth Match Flame (Realization): 60
• Marionette's Eliminate Error (Realization): 50
• Magic Bullet's Bullet of Despair (Realization): 50
• False Throne's Playtime is Over!!! (Realization): 40
• Philip's Blazing Strike: 35
• The Red Mist's Great Split: Horizontal: 35
• Argalia's Grand Finale: 35
• Tanya's Beatdown: 32
• Aspiration (E.G.O.): 31.5
• Mimicry's GôDdBỹÉ (Realization): 30
• Sound of a Star (E.G.O.): 30
• Ozma's Grief of the Deprived: 30
• Big Bird's Salvation: 30
• Happy Teddy Bear's Nostalgic Embrace of the Old Days: 30
• Baral's Serum W: 30
• The Black Silence's Furioso: 29.5
• The Red Mist's Great Split: Vertical: 29.5
• Jae-Heon's Backstitch: 29
• Zena's Shockwave: 28.5
• Tanya's Beatdown (Player Version): 27.5
• In the Name of Love and Hate (E.G.O.): 27.5
• Xiao's Tāo Tiè: 27.5
• Mimicry (E.G.O.): 27
• Fourth Match Flame (E.G.O.): 26
• 얀샋ㄷ요무's Distorted Blade (Player Version): 25.5
• Oswald's CLIMAX~!!!! (Player Version): 25.5
• Wrist Cutter's Sinking (Realization): 25
• Faint Memories' Grief of the Deprived (Realization): 25
• The Vermillion Cross's Rampageous Strike: 24.5
• Today's Expression (E.G.O.): 24
• Marionette (E.G.O.): 23
• Wrist Cutter (E.G.O.): 23
• Apocalypse (E.G.O.): 22.5
• Baral's Serum R: 22.5
• Dipsia (E.G.O.): 22.5
• Nikolai's Disposal: 22.5
• The Black Silence's Spew Smoke: 22.5
• 얀샋ㄷ요무's Distorted Blade: 21.5

There are, of course, other very high-rolling cards that are dependent on Power to function. Great Split: Horizontal and Tāo Tiè always get at least +2 Power to their roll. Disposal always gets at least +1. Maxim's Ground Crash, generally speaking, rolls an average of 27.5, on par with Tāo Tiè. Apocalypse gets +8 Power at half health, making it stronger than Sound of a Star. And Yujin's Boundary of Death, of course, can roll 50, though its average roll is about 14.75.

Point is, this list is clearly not comprehensive. Still, I figured it was cool and wanted to share it.

 

[breakingamber]

Emotional Turbulence 6.3

The fight starts slowly. Xiao makes probing slashes. Qrow responds in kind with simple sword moves. Both parties are taking the fight seriously. But neither is giving it their all.

Xiao's E.G.O., the aura of draining heat, doesn't seem to be active. Her weapon stays the simple red sword. It still blazes with heat, air rippling around it. But you suspect it's a property of the weapon itself, not anything Xiao is explicitly doing to it.

"Who do you think is going to win? I, myself, believe in my Director. But I don't know much about Qrow's capabilities." Miris asks, and you give the question a once-over.

At this early stage, you can't quite tell. Qrow stands a fair chance against just about any Fixer from the City, if your judgement is correct. But Xiao is no ordinary Fixer. Even as she refrains from exerting her full power, she remains a Section Director of the Liu Association. Section 1, no less. You've not yet seen Qrow fighting at full capacity. Nor have you seen Xiao fight without her E.G.O..

"It could go either way," you finally reply. "But I'm inclined to give it to Xiao."

The moment she breaks out the raging dragon, he's going down hard. But until then, he's got a shot.

Miris nods. And in turn, you have a question for him as well. Something both Xiao and Miris mentioned offhandedly, pertaining to Distortions.

"The White Nights. You said they were after my time. What, exactly, are you talkin' about?"

"The White Nights and Dark Days… a strange event that occurred several months ago. A brilliant light shone over the entire City, from the middle of L Corp's Nest, for three days straight. It was so bright that it even made the night seem like day. And when I saw it…"

Miris pauses, face contorted. It is as if he is struggling putting his thoughts into words.

"...It was as if a great weight had been lifted off my shoulders," he eventually continues. "Like the light had shone into my very soul. And everywhere I looked, on every person's face, I saw a gentle smile. That light seemed to convey a message: that everything would be alright. That there was hope. That maybe, we, as humans, could feel again."

Miris's face takes on one of those same smiles. You're starting to understand what he's talking about, your hopes lifting. Carmen spoke of it so many times. The cure for the disease of the mind. Her description of the execution was always far too metaphorical for your taste, differing seemingly every time. But one thing was always in common: seeds of Light, growing into a great tree. Planting in everyone's hearts and letting them bloom. And it's Miris's next words that clinch it.

"In hindsight, the Light of the Library, which eventually overtook L Corp's Nest, was one and the same."

Because that strange building of books and swords was… well. They clearly knew of Cogito, of that strange 'Lobotomy Corporation'. Their Librarians burst into fluttering pages of that same Light. There's a link there.

You genuinely can't believe that Ayin pulled it off.

Except. Come to think about it, Carmen had been very adamant that the Light shine for seven days straight. Else the seeds could not be planted properly, or something like that. Weak seeds, unable to sprout properly.

"What about the Dark Days?" you ask, already dreading the answer.

Miris's face falls instantly. "After the three days of Light came four days of darkness, so complete that the day seemed to turn to night. And whether it was an effect of the darkness or simply being deprived of the Light, the world seemed more hopeless than ever. Nothing had changed. Nothing would change. And the world despaired…"

He closes his eyes, smooths out his face. "Apologies. After that came the first case of the Distortion Phenomenon, and those at the Seven, Hana, and Zwei Associations believe that week of turbulent emotions to be the cause."

"That bastard," you mutter.

Of course he'd fuck it up. You don't know how, what he was doing with L Corp or hell, much of anything. But you're not surprised that Ayin failed to get the job done. You've no doubt that he tried. If nothing else, the man was dedicated. He would've done his best. But he's no Carmen.

You might be being a little harsh on him.

"You know something?"

You explain, "Think so. Me and a couple others worked in a laboratory in the Outskirts on something called the Seed of Light project. It was meant to help the whole City, break the cycles of endless casual hate, cure some 'disease of the mind' everybody had. Pretty sure that's what… almost happened. Based on your description. I…wasn't around for that.

"Except, if what Carmen said was correct, the Light really needed to shine for seven days straight. And if it didn't… yeah, I can see where the Distortion problem came from. She warned about that kind of thing happening. Weak hearts and weak seeds."

A thought occurs to you, and suddenly Xiao's whole deal makes sense. "Three days of Light, though… could still be enough, right? That's got to be how it happened. That's how Xiao got her E.G.O.—Psychoment, whatever. Those partial seeds of Light, planting deeper in her heart than most others'. Speaking of which…"

You glance back towards the fight. It's ramped up a fair bit from where it started. Blades moving at speeds that would be a blur to an ordinary person, but perfectly trackable to your eyes. Muscles exerting force that's starting to become deadly. But in practice, both fighters are still half-assing it. Just, well, less.

"...Why isn't she using it? She trying to train herself without it? Too worried about setting everything on fire?"

Miris shakes his head. "None of those. We did some basic testing after being released from the hospital, and it's a strange limitation of Aura. She cannot manifest her E.G.O. without sacrificing the ability to use her Aura. And vice versa."

Huh. If Aura is some 'manifestation of the soul' like the locals believe, then it kind of makes sense that it'd be incompatible with E.G.O., a similar power extracted from the mind. Glynda might've been onto something when she confused the two.

Could also explain why you can't seem to get yours going. Mimicry, for all that it's a fantastic weapon that grants you access to your own E.G.O., is still an E.G.O. by itself. Maybe your connection to it is what's blocking the magical soul-unlocking bullshit from working. Still doesn't explain why all your healing augments stopped working, but it's a start. Maybe if you tried putting it down for awhile… but no. A Fixer's weapon is their livelihood, especially in your case. You know that you'd be much less powerful with a regular sword.

A regular sword with Aura though… The thought remains tempting. You're seriously considering it.

"What's it like, having Aura?" you ask. "Feel stronger? Tougher?"

Miris shrugs, maroon briefly flickering over his form. "I'm glad to have it. I don't feel significantly stronger but I'm certainly more durable. Blows that would wound or cripple merely glance off instead, though I still feel the pain. And of course, the enhanced healing is, frankly speaking, miraculous. Xiao and I should still be in recovery from the wounds we received. Instead, I'm combat-ready enough to battle a 'Huntsman' on par with a section director. And if I understand correctly, I'll be ready to do so again by tomorrow, if necessary. My condolences that you seem unable to harness this Aura."

Yeah… still unpleasant. Knowing that you're dying, with such a convenient source of healing just out of reach.

"S'fine," you get out. "Never had it in the City. And I did just fine."

The sound of steel rending brings your attention back to the fight. It's Qrow, having been sent flying back towards a shipping container. But rather than slam into it like you expected, his sword reaches it first, tearing through the obstruction and coming to a stop in the ground behind it, leaving just enough space for him to fly through unimpeded. Somehow, he manages the pinpoint landing on the blade's handle, and moments later is back in the fight, flipping over Xiao's forward thrust and slashing at her briefly-exposed back.

Things have ramped up to the point where it's worth paying attention again. And as much as you hate to admit it, you might have underestimated Qrow Branwen.

Xiao, for her part, is no slouch. You'd seen her raging in the forest, and while she'd mostly been relying on raw force, she'd still had the instincts. A practiced stance. And here, in a calmer and more rational frame of mind, she puts that practice into use. She wields her borrowed sword with a sense of ease, applies her impressive strength in effective manner: to parry, to evade and to clash. One can not call her unskilled.

At the same time… Qrow is simply better, by nearly every measure of the word.

He makes combat look like a dance, graceful and lightning quick. He brings his blade about absurdly quickly, even swifter than Xiao's straight sword despite being twice the size and weight. A sense of… fuck, you don't know. Liquid. Fluid. Smooth movement, flowing between strikes and filling the gaps with hard steel, kicks and punches.

You have seen few swordsmen more skilled. The Director of North Seven Association's Section 1, any given stance of the Purple Tear. And others along the same vein: warriors that had devoted their entire combat style towards mastering their blade, able to use it in every circumstance. Better than Argalia and definitely better than his sister. The fact that you're even speaking of Qrow in the same sentence as these swordsmen and women—that's really saying something.

You'd seen a taste of it during your fight earlier, but couldn't appreciate it until now. Xiao's raw strength allows her to hold her own. And you imagine, if she were to manifest her E.G.O., the power boost, combined with the ridiculous heat, would easily give her the edge.

By that same logic, you could still beat him. Sheer power tends to render skill irrelevant. He'd dart around, sure, biting at you like an annoying horsefly. That bird power, in particular, might be problematic. But you'd crush him eventually.

Blades clash again and again. And slowly, surely, you see Xiao lose.

One final downward scythe strike catches the ex-director from behind, as she turns too slowly to catch Qrow's rapid repositioning. And with a flicker and a shatter of soul-stuff, the fight is over. Qrow retreats, sweat pouring down his brow.

You feel the faintest whiff of superheated air. Xiao's sword catches fire in earnest, then extinguishes itself a moment later. The faint image of her E.G.O. appears around her, then vanishes like a mirage.

All told, even after clearly bringing Qrow to the brink of exhaustion, she looks ready to go another round. That Aura stuff is truly bullshit. If you could learn to use it in conjunction with your E.G.O., the same way Xiao shows is possible…

You'd go give those Librarians a piece of your mind, for one. Maybe you could even give Iori a run for her money.

Xiao walks towards you and Miris, frowning in disappointment at her own loss. Miris offers her a few words of consolement, before the pair of them turn to you. Qrow follows up not long afterward, looking more composed.

"That was a darned good showing. You Fixers are machines. 'Specially since you can keep on fighting without Aura—wouldn't look forward to taking you down. Glynda's made a pair of monsters."

Xiao accepts the praise with a simple nod, before directing a question at you.

"Kali. If you don't mind sharing, what do you plan on doing in the near future, here on Remnant? Miris and I will likely be staying in Vale for a month or so, accepting Glynda's generous offer of work and passing down news of other Citydwellers, before setting out to search the world ourselves. I was hoping we could coordinate."

Qrow steps in: "Yeah, I've got sort of a messaging system involving specific mailboxes and drop-off points, since long-distance communications are otherwise off the table. I can let you fellows in on it, give you some information that way as I travel abroad. Remember what we talked about, yesterday? I can help you out, but you'd better decide now."

You do. Solutions for your problem, each one pointing towards one of the Kingdoms of Remnant.

[ ] Mistral. Home of ancient myths and magic, and artifacts of vague power. You have no clue if anything here will help you survive, but Qrow seems to think so. He's also heading in this direction, though Mr. 'I can turn into a bird' is almost certainly going to be faster than you.

[ ] Atlas. The city above the world, with the most advanced technology. Pseudo-Singularities, but a strict military structure. And presumably, the general snootiness of Nests and Nestborn. For a more 'sciencey' approach, this is apparently your best bet.

[ ] Vacuo. …As far as you know, there isn't actually much going for you here?

[ ] Vale You're not going to stay here.

[ ] Write-in. It'd better be good.

---

A/N: hahahaha oh right actually writing a Quest, as opposed to just doing outlines of fic ideas what an amazing concept maybe I should get on that update schedule what update schedule don't look at me like that

Jokes aside, I honestly kind of just… got sidetracked on this. I had about 1/3rd of it written out two months ago, just had to get the rest of it done. And then I didn't until quite recently.

And yeah that's about it. Got questions? Ask.

On a completely unrelated note, may I recommend you all a shockingly good fic?

It's Turbin' Time (Library of Ruina Modded/Arknights) Crossover | Sufficient Velocity

If you know anything about Turbulence Office, you'll know that it is definitely the Library of Ruina mod of all time. You wouldn't expect it to be the subject of a weirdly good Arknights cross. But what do you know, this is the world we live in, and @thenew has created something very nice. Even though I know none of the Arknights characters, nor any of the Turbulence Office ones aside from a brief scan of their Credenza pages, it remains engaging with character work and prose I enjoy and appreciate.

Seriously. For all that it's based on a meme of a —I mean, a completely functional and non-weird mod, if you like reading about the Red Mist in KaliQuest, you'll love reading about the Steel Determination in It's Turbin' Time.

 

[breakingamber]

Emotional Turbulence 6.4

On the surface, Atlas might be a better choice. Far as you can tell, your problem is impossible to solve with normal means. Your augments themselves are the product of Singularities, and so more Singularities (or, at least, the closest thing Remnant's got) are probably your best option for fixing them. The technological capital of the world, Qrow said. Even if they are, supposedly, stuck-up pricks.

Despite all that, you decide: "Mistral. I'm intending to go to Mistral."

Maybe it's because of that magical tree sap Carmen had you drag back from the Outskirts, the shit that either healed you or simply blew you up. Or the way that pretty much every Abnormality Carmen's ever extracted was somehow able to magically break the laws of physics in new and unique ways. Almost magical. You're willing to put some faith in magic.

Qrow says, "Well, that makes my life easier," with a laugh. "Means I won't have to forge a whole folder's worth of documents. Immigration protocols are a pain, 'specially since Jimmy's on such high alert."

He gestures vaguely at Mimicry, continuing, "Heck, I don't think there's any amount of paperwork that could get that thing through customs. Probably for the best."

Xiao and Miris exchange a glance, then both shrug. "If you hear any news, whether it pertains to Lowell and the rest of the Liu, other Cityfolk, or anything you find important, please let us know. One Cityfolk to another," Xiao says.

You nod. "Sure. Good luck with your search."

"While I don't know what you are searching for," Miris responds, "I wish you the same. May both our fires burn bright in our quests for our desires."

That actually gives you pause. Previously, you kind of just forgot to tell the Liu Fixers something as simple as your name. It's not really something you were hiding, nor something you give out like candy, but it still led to some awkwardness down the road. Now, you're remembering. You've never told either Xiao or Miris about your… sticky mortality situation. Only Qrow, at this point.

Do they deserve to know?


[ ] Tell Xiao and Miris everything. They're two of the only people on Remnant that understand what being unable to heal means for an augmented Fixer.

[ ] Don't tell them anything. For all that they are loyal, trustworthy people, part of the reason they listen to you at all is your sheer strength. A dying person is… not strong.

[ ] A compromise.

• [ ] Write-in.

Qrow says he'll have the papers ready by the end of the day, delivered to your borrowed apartment. Then he's bailing out to Mistral or whatever. You're happy enough with that.

Glynda ends up calling you back, rescheduling the check-in for the afternoon. The agenda is surprisingly simple: a case debrief, followed by the same question as Qrow: what are you doing next? Now that you've finally made up your mind, you can actually answer it. And after the debrief, she confides that Miris already told her the events of it; she simply wanted corroboration, as well as anything you might have picked up that he didn't.

Which explains her reaction: calm and unemotional. You'd expected a hint of surprise. But if Miris already told her everything… yeah. Whatever Distortion emotion-bombs might've been dropped on her, she's already had time to react to, process.

The… only thing that you remember, that the red haired Fixer might not have covered. Is your hallucination or thing you misheard or whatever. That time when you might have imagined her voice. And frankly, you're not willing to speak about Carmen to Glynda. If Carmen really has…

Actually. You have no idea what's going on there. Not the slightest clue. She wasn't even speaking to you. You're certain of that. It's too bizarre to be something you might imagine. But it's also too bizarre to be something that actually happened.

…Maybe it's a Remnant-specific thing. Something to do with hearing the voices of the dead, or sirens, or other otherworldly bullshit. If that's the case, then maybe the headmistress of the Huntsman academy would know something. And then maybe you should ask…

Fuck, did you just talk yourself into this?


[ ] Yes. Tell Glynda about the… Voice and the name you heard—Pyrrha? Jaune?

[ ] Nope. You're not ready for this.


Qrow drops by to deliver the papers in person. You can't read them, but he points to a very particular green piece of paper, saying that it's a one-way ticket for a boat to Mistral, leaving early tomorrow. Billed your account for it, apparently, somehow (the size of which, based on the number of zeroes, has gone down significantly). It's… kind of him, you suppose. You weren't entirely sure you wanted to leave literally tomorrow, but now that an avenue's open… you'll take it.

You wonder if he knew that.

As you drift to sleep for the final time in Vale, you dream of memories past…


Pick one.

[ ] Your final battle.

• [ ] … against a man in a black suit, amongst towers of books.
• [ ] … against a woman in a furred coat, underneath a starry sky.
• [ ] … against your mirror image.

[ ] Great times.

• [ ] … spent with Gabriel, Michelle, and Elijah, as they attempted to explain shit you couldn't understand.
• [ ] …spent with Daniel, Lisa, and Enoch, as you discussed philosophy and fought monsters (under the bed).
• [ ] …spent with Benjamin, Carmen, and (sigh) Ayin, as they talked about hopes, dreams, and the Seed of Light.

---

A/N: I saw that pretty much every single Project Moon quest managed to update today, and decided I wanted in on that action. Hence this shitty placeholder of a chapter.

These… definitely are choices alright.

also why did all of the votes come in after I closed voting what why who when how where

 

[breakingamber]

Emotional Turbulence 6.5
"...If you don't see me again, now you'll know the reason why."

Xiao's lips are pursed, Miris deep in thought. It takes awhile before either of them speaks.

"The thought that all of your augments could fail simultaneously…千载难逢," Xiao says. "No. It reeks of a conceptual attack. It is not as if you purchased them all from the same source, correct?"

"No," you confirm. "One from one of the new K Corp contenders… what was her name? Stephan? More from independent Workshops and Companies. At least half a dozen independent Singularities."

Xiao glances towards Miris, who shrugs, saying, "You know more about augments than I do, Xiao."

"Then… then I stand by what I said. A conceptual effect. Not targeting any given method of healing, but your ability to heal in general. I'm at a loss as to what it could be. It would have to be a Singularity, or perhaps even some Outskirts magic? It can't be an effect unique to the Library. Miris and I have been experiencing no issues."

You snort. "I've seen that so-called magic. Don't think it could do anything like this."

A thought occurs to you. During your 'trial' in the Library, you'd faced off against that dark-cloaked woman… shit, she probably actually was an Arbiter, wasn't she? She had the signature cloak, or at least clothes patterned after them. And you know those fucks have multiple Singularities at their disposal. And not the old and outdated ones either. The good shit. Weapons and powers in use by the Wings themselves.

She'd hit you with those strange stars, circles, flashes of light and chains and locks. And pillars, fucking those pillars. At the time, you'd dismissed them as, well, painful, but none truly debilitating, given they were blunted by your E.G.O.. And then you'd killed her, figuring that was that. Now, though, you've been forced to reconsider.

"...Could the Library's pet Arbiter do something like this?" You wonder aloud, to the shock of both of the Liu Fixers.

"The Library had an Arbiter—even a simulation of an Arbiter at their disposal?" Miris nearly shouts, voice as emotional as you've ever heard it. Xiao's response is slightly more muted, eyes simply widening.

You may have misspoke. "Not sure. She wore the black and gold of A Corp and threw multiple Singularities at me. Killed her, but… fuck, she might've left her mark. You didn't face her? Black hair? Golden slashes of light, chains, and pillars?"

Two shakes of the head. Xiao sighs. "An Arbiter… We truly didn't stand a chance, did we? I don't regret my choices, but it is disheartening—"

"Hold on," you interrupt. "Wait one second. You say you didn't stand a chance? I disagree."

You mean it. You remember fighting Xiao back in the forest. She may not have had the raw strength to beat yours. But the fact that she could even rival it says it all. Says that even if she had faced that Arbiter in her rampage throughout the Star of the City, she could've taken her. You did, after all.

"I think you could've beaten her. Genuinely. She wasn't all that. Sure, she had locks and chains. Sure, she was hard to kill. But in all honesty, you gave me a harder fight than she did. And that was with you pissed off out of your mind. Use your brain and your E.G.O. effectively? You could've put her in the ground, easy."

"I… appreciate the advice, but back to your plight," Xiao responds, refocusing her gaze. "If it is that Arbiter's… Lock that has sealed your ability to heal, you may need to return to the City, solely to slay her and release the Singularity's hold. If that doesn't work, could be that you have to throw the whole Singularity into a Concept Incinerator. Or otherwise find a corresponding Key?"

"Damn." You were hoping for a different answer.

Frankly, you're kind of hoping that the Arbiter isn't at fault here at all. Sure, it would give you a target, kind of. But all it really does is change two problems (1. stuck on Remnant 2. dying) into one bigger problem (dying on Remnant). Cause you have to find a way back to the City regardless. And right now, you don't have a fucking clue on that front. You're placing your faith in magic and miracles.

Still. You appreciate the help. And as far as gambles went, you think you came out on top here. The pair of Liu Fixers don't seem to think any less of you. And you got to put your brains together and come up with, uh, squat. Could've been worse, you guess.

Before you leave, Xiao does have one more tidbit to share.

"Kali. If you don't mind… what are you expecting to find, here on Remnant?"

A pretty good question. You don't have an answer immediately.

"Not much," you eventually reply. "If I'm lucky, I'll figure something out to keep myself alive. Really lucky? I'll get back to the City, figure out which of my friends are even still alive after ten fucking years. Catch up. See what I can do about the whole White Nights mess.

"But probably, I'll eventually just… die pitifully on this massive rock," you admit. "Tech-wise, they're so far behind the City, I don't think anything outside of what they call 'magic' can help me. And if what Qrow said is right, that's right rare."

Xiao frowns. "Not especially hopeful."

"Should I be?" you ask.

The Maiden of Iron closes her eyes, thinking her words over carefully. "Logically, you are correct. The evidence suggests that you are, ah. 无可救药. Perhaps I should have the same attitude regarding Lowell. This world is vast, after all.

"And yet… Maybe it's foolish of me. But I believe my existence here has meaning. That it isn't a cosmic fluke. And that, if I burn brightly enough, place my destiny into my own hands, I can find a happy ending for myself and mine. If you don't believe the same, there's nothing to be done. Ignore everything I've said.

"But, well. Perhaps you could raise your expectations? I believe your existence has meaning also. Maybe you won't reach your goal. But I refuse to believe the Red Mist will die having accomplished nothing, that such a legend would blaze so dimly as to not even scorch the surface she started on."

---

"Put it simply: I don't know what you witnessed atop Beacon Tower. I can't help you."

You blink. Gape. "What?"

"Well," Glynda says, "I can think of three reasons you'd suddenly hear the voice of one of your dearest, dead friends after a battle.

"One. You hallucinated it. Made it up."

"No," You reply instantly. "I know what I heard."

You weren't certain at the time, but you've had time to think back on it. The voice was unmistakable. That of the deceased Pyrrha's, as well as Carmen's. You could not have imagined both of them.

Glynda raises her hands in a gesture of surrender. "Noted. I didn't believe so either. Second, could be the result of a Semblance. As recently as a few months ago, the Fall of Beacon was brought about in part due to a perception-manipulating Semblance. However, I find this unlikely. That particular culprit is in the wind, and besides, from what Miris described to me, that "pocket dimension… as created by whatever remained of my student. I don't think there was anyone else. I don't think it was even possible. Is that correct?"

Glynda's voice barely cracks at the mention of Pyrrha Nikos. You decide to let it be.

"Don't think so, yeah," you say. "Too open a space for anyone to hide. And I'm good at noticing that kind of thing."

"Then the third. Much as the 'Distortion Phenomenon' is something from your City, so is this ghost, voice. And again. If this is the case, I cannot help you."

As well-reasoned as Glynda's logic is, you can't help but be disappointed. Once again, you were really hoping for a different answer.

You thank the headmistress for her time. And as you start to walk out the door…

"One more thing."

You turn to face Glynda, her face somehow more solemn than usual.

"Miris and Xiao were confused when I explained this to them. And if I recall, you are from the same Backstreets as they are. Yes?"

You're surprised Xiao is from the Backstreets; you'd pegged her as a Nestdweller. Then again, she had told you that both Lowell and her were planning to move in. If that's the case, you're probably from different Districts. Regardless, you get the sense that's not what Glynda is asking, so you instead respond with a curt nod.

"Okay. Here is my advice. The one law you ought to follow above all others.

"Don't kill people."

What? That's… Hey! Not like you go around massacring people for no reason. Only when they get in your way (most don't). Or when they're targets, in which case they usually deserve it.

Unless she's saying you shouldn't even do that?

Jeez, this place is full of softies.

---

"So, you're the 'trials' this place has to present to me?"

It's a motley assortment of individuals that confronts you, after Angela teleports you. A trio of fuckers in Index Proxy robes. A Section Director of the Liu—South Section 2, if you had to guess? You've never seen the woman in person, don't even know her name, honestly. No idea what the fuck she's doing here.

In the center of their formation is a man in a well-tailored suit. He holds a cane in one hand, an unusual Workshop weapon. You can't get a good read on him. But given he's among this group of Grade 1 Fixers and Grade 1-adjacents, he's at least on par with 'em. If he's their leader, and given how each and every one of your opponents has shot him a glance in the seconds you've been here, he probably is, good chance he's a cut above them too.

They're all nervous. This, you can tell. Looks like Angela made a silly mistake. She told her 'trials' who they were up against. They've had time to stew, to overthink. When it comes to fighting you, it's better to be thrown into the deep end, you've found. You're no shrink. But in the face of your overwhelming strength, your, uh, reputation, fight-or-flight gut instinct always fares better than meticulous plans doomed to fail. Equations unbalanceable by the unfair weight of your power and your E.G.O..

Boss-man says something you don't quite make out, ending in "...feels unreal." You decide he has to go first. Break their formation. Still can't tell if they're a Fixer Office or some kind of Syndicate, but it doesn't really matter at the end of the day.

You probably ought to figure out how strong the enemies are first. Eh, you'll do it live.

And with a mighty onrush, you're upon him.

---

It's kinda weird, now that you're thinking about it. They wear the uniforms. Their weapons are chained. And yet, the only person that actually seems comfortable, that fits their role, is the black-suited boss man. You're not seeing the single-minded dedication, not feeling the sheer force of will the Index puts into every single attack.

And yet, they keep managing to block, parry, evade. You're not putting in much effort, true, but even this much should be able to paste them into the ground, no sweat. You've landed a couple of hits, but your foes keep pushing back, keeping you on your toes with unexpected attacks and methods. The Index member dual-wielding swords, in particular, has been a thorn in your side, continuously throwing out powerful that you know he shouldn't be able to handle. The boss-man, as well, has been annoyingly evasive, preventing you from landing a clean kill.

Something is up with this trial. Something you're not seeing. The Index shouldn't have these techniques, shouldn't be this uncertain. The Liu shouldn't have this level of power, not this early into a fight before their blazing passion and augments warm up. And the boss-man shouldn't be able to shoot lasers from his face—

It clicks.

You're being played for a fool.

The shape of Angela's devious game is becoming clearer. Lure you into a false sense of security with plausibly familiar faces. Then slowly up the ante, the gimmicks, the bullshit. Boil you alive like the blubbering toad in that old folk tale.

You won't have it.

"Looks like she's done warming up… Keep on your toes."

What do you want?

The Book of Cogito. Carmen's dream. Your salvation.

Why?

The lab. Benjamin. Daniel. Ayin. Lisa. Michelle. All of them. More.

"...Let's try and protect what we cherish, here," you mutter. The shell of your E.G.O. coalesces around you.

Shouts of alarm. Orders to stay calm. None of them matter.

Mimicry pulls back. You swing.

Red-tinted reality turns redder. Your enemies fall like mere chaff.

Now that you've started trying, if this is the best they can do?

You've got a good feeling about this.

---

First real dream you've had since you got here. First one you can remember, anyways. Shame it's such a shit memory. Thinking back on that moment, you feel like such an idiot.

Nothing to be done for it anymore. And if you're reading this clock right, you've got a boat to catch. You shove Mimicry into a shitty cardboard 'sheath' you made last night (it protests, but you kinda need to do this to have even a chance of being inconspicuous) and head out.

The boat in question isn't exactly bustling with people. One of the more notable occupants includes…


[ ] …a strange silent girl of slight height with short black hair in monochrome clothing, shades of darks and whites. Her skirt doesn't quite fit her frame.

[ ] …a young woman with blonde hair, sunglasses, and an obviously prosthetic hand. She seems faintly familiar, though you can't quite pin down how.

[ ] …a pair of sisters with bright green eyes, twins if you had to guess. They're wearing casual clothing, but seem uncomfortable in it.

---

A/N: This boat does not have all of these characters on it, lol. Just one.

That aside, uh, been awhile, huh? Been spending my time writing Fate/Project Moon (and also Worm I guess) Servant sheets, reading (and writing(?) DDLC fic, and playing Limbus Company.

For the record, there… shouldn't be any major Limbus-related content in this Quest, unless the votes go in a really odd direction. I will be incorporating the lore/backstory learned in LCB, mostly in Kali's inner monologue, but there shouldn't be any characters from that appearing in this. I'll admit that I was tempted, but figured I should avoid it to avoid, howsit, 'jumping the shark'.

Though that probably happened all the way back in Ruina, back when dealing with Greta. Ah well.

At least I managed to update Sword of Volition… that's gotta count for something, right?

If you guys have got any questions, feel free to ask.

 

[breakingamber]

Ignite 7.1

It only takes two hours for you to give up on staring stoically into the ocean and seek out interesting conversation.

Motion sickness has never been a problem for you, and besides this boat moves pretty smoothly. Not your first time, either. You've sailed in District 21, both in the choppy waters of its Backstreets and in the sparkling-green waves of the Nest. Mimicry's been blabbering at you in protest this whole time for its unceremonious cardboard box treatment, but you've had long experience tuning it out when you need to. If you need to treat a pseudo-legendary sword like a vacuum cleaner to get through this world, you'll do it.

Nah. The issue is just that there's not much for you to do. You're bored. And you could do with a better lay of the land, of Mistral. Of Remnant, honestly. You've done some half-hearted research, but you're still no better than a tourist. Just because you can survive getting lost in a wilderness bigger than the City itself does not mean that you want to.

The deck isn't that crowded. Your choices for conversation are between a pair of lovebirds passionately making out behind the cabin, the old ship captain, and a blonde young woman who managed to bring a motorcycle on board. Everyone else is belowdecks.

You've learned not to distract the driver of the vehicles you're riding. You're not keen on getting involved in the romantic couple. And you don't plan on getting off the deck, in case of Grimm or pirates or whatever. Young woman it is.

Getting closer to her lets you take a better look. Well-kept blonde hair as long as yours (you used to put active effort into yours, but gave up a couple of years ago.) Bracelets concealing ammunition-based weaponry, Remnant standard at this point. Most obviously, one of her arms is a prosthetic. A moderately expensive one, by City standards: it outlines her arm fairly well, seems about as functional as a genuine article, but you suspect it has no sense of touch. And of course, if it were truly high-end, you wouldn't be able to tell it was fake in the first place.

She looks up at your approach, placing the photograph she was looking at inside of her jacket, letting you get a good look at her face. And despite her height and build, you can't help but be struck by just how young she is. She can't be older than, what, seventeen? Maybe eighteen? If she's a full-fledged adult, you'll eat your hat.

"Hey, what's your name?" you decide, as a greeting. Can't hurt.

"...Yang," she replies, a little tightly. As an afterthought, as if out of pure politeness, she continues, "And you?"

"Kali. You going to Mistral?"

Yang huffs quietly. "Yeah. Everyone on this boat is, right?"

"Probably?" you say, shrugging. "What for?"

She hesitates to respond. As a show of good faith, you answer your own question: "I'm going looking for weird bullshit. Magic stuff. 'Enchanted items', apparently. They were all the rage in…"

You struggle to recall the name Qrow gave you in that briefing of his for a moment. "...Kuchinashi. Yeah, Kuchinashi, couple years back I think?"

Yang gives you a strange look, like she thinks you're an idiot. You'd almost be offended, if she weren't a child. "Magic. Really? Fairy tales and stuff?"

"Yes. I've got a problem that Aura can't fix. Hoping some mystical shoe polish or some such can help me out."

Now Yang looks at you with a different expression, one you can't immediately parse. "You a Huntress? Licensed and everything?"

Wait, Huntresses have licenses? Fuck. Qrow never mentioned this. You have no idea if any of the crumpled papers you shoved in your coat pockets are a Huntress license. Should've probably expected this, should've checked, bureaucracy works the same way no matter what world you're in, but still.

Ugh, screw it. You're definitely a licensed Fixer, probably the most licensed Fixer. And Fixers are basically Huntsmen, same way teams are basically Offices, right? If she calls you out, you'll shove City documents in her face. Just because they're not legitimate here doesn't mean they aren't real.

"Sure," you say noncommittally. "I'm a Huntress. What of it?"

"You're coming from Vale, right? Were you there for the Fall of Beacon? I was, uh, a student there."

You can answer this one honestly. "No. I only arrived here recently. Saw the ruins of the place, though. Looked like it would have been grand if it were in good shape, but as it stands it's mostly just full of Grimm. Had a mission there."

Ah. You figured out what that expression means. She's struggling to look at you in a good light. But she's still trying. You remember Qrow's offhand remark, back in the bar. About how most people dismiss magic as something that simply doesn't exist here on Remnant. You guess Yang must be one of those people.

It's definitely strange, being thought of as a crazy person. Or, well. There's a fair share of people that think you're insane for moving out to the Outskirts laboratory, for taking the jobs you do, for how much money you manage to accumulate and spend on Backstreets orphanages and schools. But even they still respect the fact that you can punch a hole through their torsos if they talk smack.

Yang's got none of that. She thinks you're crazy because you're talking crazy, at least to her. Novel, if slightly annoying. Aren't kids supposed to be filled with wonder and imagination and crap?

"To answer your question, I'm going to Mistral to reunite with family. My sister and… yeah, my sister. I let her go out without me awhile back. I need to catch up, see how she's doing."

Guilt flashes across Yang's face. Failure to protect…You understand the feeling all too well.

This is getting a little dark for you, actually. On this beautiful day at sea… Yeah. You could do with a change in topic of conversation, now that Yang's not quite as hostile.

[ ] Conversation topics with Yang? (Pick two) (Try to pick something lighthearted!)

• [ ] Herself
• [ ] Arm
• [ ] Vale
• [ ] Mistral
• [ ] Remnant
• [ ] Beacon
• [ ] Write-in (I could really use a write-in lol)

A/N: Shout-outs to lightning0B and dark Nebby for getting me off my ass to write another chapter of this quest.

Would you believe me if I guessed that U Corp was water-based before Limbus Company 4.5 came out?

 

[breakingamber]

Ignite 7.2
Your mind searches for a more lighthearted conversation topic, and eventually settles upon the gauntlet on Yang's non-prosthetic arm, and the weapon built into it. Some kind of firearm, shotgun. Like Qrow's, except the ammo's more blatantly visible. Briefly, you wonder if there's a connection between the two, but dismiss it almost immediately. Slight similarities in weaponry do not a relationship make. Besides, gauntlets (and, presumably, fisticuffs) weren't Qrow's thing. More of a sword guy.

…Now that you're thinking about it, the whole concept's a little iffy. Theoretically, it kinda makes sense: punches are good. Guns are good. Combine the two: punchgun. In practice, you're kinda worried about ammo, about recoil. And clearly, given she's missing a whole arm, it didn't work out for her at some point.

The other thing you can't help but note is that she ain't even on both sides. Not symmetrical. She doesn't have a gauntlet on her prosthetic. Either she's punching one-sidedly, or she's got the other half of her weapon built into her fake arm. Or it's tucked in a pocket in her coat, you guess.

"So… your gauntlet," you say. "Looks neat. How's it work? You punch stuff up close, shoot from far away? Recoil sounds like it'd be hell."

Yang lights up, clearly enthusiastic about the topic. "Yeah, mostly! I can use Ember Celica to fight at range just fine; can even modulate the strength of my punches to adjust for distance. But if a Grimm's in my face, I can instead augment my punches with a bang. And the stress isn't too bad when you get used to it. I'll admit it took a lot of practice, learning to manage the precise punching force required to cancel out the recoil, but nowadays it's instinct."

"Huh, neat," you reply, dumbly.

You're reminded of this one 'Fixer Analysis' TV show you once saw. You remember the commentator, Archer or something like that, and that one time you saw him analyze you. You were fighting... a Star of the City, right, one that'd killed more than four thousand Backstreets dwellers. Caliper's March. And the commentator had been reviewing footage of your fight and going on how skillful you'd been, how much effort it must have taken for you to match the March's rhythm, and how expertly you cleaved through the minions to reach the source. What had he said again? "Her brain must be firing on all cylinders for her to do such calculations!"

At the time, you had thought he was just making shit up. Because you had no idea what the fuck he was talking about. Rhythm? Calculations? You'd noticed something kinda weird was going on, but it hadn't stopped you from doing as you always do. You'd brute-forced that case with strength and speed, just like you had every other. Archer should have looked elsewhere if he'd wanted skill analysis or whatever.

Gabriel, of all people, had been the one to open your eyes on that front. When you'd brought your incredulity up to him a day or two later during a casual conversation, the purple-haired scientist made some distressingly good points about you and your fighting style.

Apparently, you simply have a knack for combat. In recent days, you try to be more consciously aware of it, thinking instead of just doing. But your instincts are, according to Gabriel, Elijah, and apparently random commentators on TV shows, top-notch, to the point where they let you keep up even with opponents that can partially stymie your sheer strength and speed through bullshit. That was, supposedly, what the March was supposed to do--something about metronomes and ticking and enhancing the strength of its strikes? But you, without even realizing it, had played into its stupid gimmick just enough, footwork and striking just careful and accurate enough to render what should have been a major advantage moot. It took a lot of convincing, but Gabriel going over the footage and pointing out the exact moments for you finally made you accept that, yeah, maybe you've got something going on. Skills and instincts that, while perhaps not earned, par say, you've still got.

Point is, way Yang talks, she's more in tune with that whole 'skill' part of Fixer—ugh, Huntress work. You still find shotgun-gauntlets to be kind of ridiculous, but you're willing to respect that it's a Remnant thing, the girl knows what she's doing, and if she was fast enough to keep up with you (which at her age, you doubt), she'd probably be able to figure out what you're doing as well.

"What about you?" Yang asks, cocking your head and looking over your shoulder. At Mimicry's hilt, poking out from behind your back. "Sword? Any kind of mecha-shift in there?"

"Mecha…shift?" you say, sounding out the unfamiliar word. "Form changing?" Like Qrow's scythe, you don't say.

Yang nods. "Yeah, though my little sis always said mecha-shift sounded cooler."

Mimicry can technically change forms. But not in a 'mechanical' way, which is what you think 'mecha' stands for. So you shake your head no. You get the sense that she's still curious though, and you briefly contemplate excuses for not unsheathing your sword. You've gotten a lot of weird looks because of it here on Remnant.

Eventually, you can't really come up with a good reason not to. And besides, Yang said she was a Huntress student right? Student under Glynda and ex-Ozpin, or something like that. And it hadn't taken more than a couple of minutes for the disciplinarian to get used to your favored weapon. Yang'll be fine.

"Here, take a look," you say. And with a one-handed flourish, you pull Mimicry out of its cardboard sheath. It immediately starts babbling something about grates, which you tune out. Yang simply stares at it with eyes wide open. Her gaze goes over every inch of your sword, from the metal edge to the sinew that makes up the body to the bone poking out near the hilt.

When her gaze passes over its largest eye, it looks back at her. The blonde flinches at the eye contact. You suddenly regret this decision.

It takes another moment or two for Yang to regain her composure, smiling awkwardly. "That's… that's out of this world. I've never seen anything like it. What's its name?"

"Mimicry," you answer. "I didn't come up with it, by the way. S'just what it's called."

"You mean you didn't design it yourself?"

"Design..." You're confused for a moment, as to why she'd even ask.

"No," you eventually reply, repeating what you'd previously told Glynda. "It's a gift."

Then it hits you. "Wait, you're telling me that you did design your, uh, 'Ember Celica'? Didn't come from a Workshop?"

Now it's Yang's turn to be confused, as she manages to wrench her eyes away from Mimicry to meet yours. "Workshop? You mean a forge? But yeah, I designed my gauntlets, engineered the mechashift and Dust compatibility myself. Forged them at Sanctum, like most of the rest of my class. Ruby helped with purchasing and some of the cutting, but the rest of it I did myself."

That's... fascinating. Genuinely. That gauntlet of hers (she mentioned gauntlets--where's the other one?) is polished to a fine edge, with a near-perfect paint job and smooth metal. You haven't seen it in action, but you strongly suspect it works as intended: engaging and firing without jamming. It looks like Workshop-quality. For her to have made it herself, to even understand how it works at all...

In your experience, most Fixers do not actually understand how their weapons nor augments work. They understand how to use them, oftentimes better than the original creators. But they do not get the fundamental internal mechanics that power their Singularities and shit. All that matters is the result, after all, not the process. You remember Gabriel griping about it.

The only exceptions are Fixers that work directly for Workshops, and thus get access to their various machines and... stuff, you're not an expert, for cheap, or the Workshop Meisters themselves. Because of course they'd understand how to use the weaponry they themselves created.

You're probably the biggest example of a Fixer wielding a weapon you don't comprehend. You may have come to an understanding with Mimicry, with the primitive Nothing There that may or may not dwell within--haven't gotten a definitive answer on that--but you sure as hell don't get why it's so sharp, why it's so powerful, and why it lets you manifest your own E.G.O. Fuck, you don't even know why your E.G.O. is as durable as it is, aside from Carmen's technobabble about 'the power of human emotion' and 'the Light of human potential' and shit.

So: yeah. Impressive for the blonde Huntress student. And if what she said about her classmates was true... impressive for all of Remnant. You guess that Qrow probably machined his own sword-scythe-shotgun thing as well, come to think of it.

Yang's not done talking.

"Your Mimicry kinda looks like this one weapon from a video game... what was it called... the Aura Sword. Does it drink the Auras of those it hits?" she asks.

You start to laugh before you realize that she might actually be serious.

"No, no it doesn't," you say.

Then you reconsider. "Uh, well, maybe. Probably no more than any other weapon?"

You're not entirely sure how Aura works, even now. For all you know, every weapon on Remnant drains Aura on hit, and that's why it goes down when you take blows. Fuck if you know. It's... frankly disturbing how little you know. But you're not going to give that away to a kid like this.

Yang does seem to accept that answer, however, and you mentally breathe a sigh of relief. You managed to get through another conversation on this weird alternate world. You'll take it.

Something Yang just said does stick out at you, though. She mentioned a name.

"Ruby... is that the name of your sister? Or a classmate?" you ask.

"My sister, yeah," she confirms. "Also my classmate! She got into Beacon the same time I did, even though she's two years younger than me. I'm super proud of her for that."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. If you've heard of Roman Torchwick, she beat the smug out of him when he was trying to rob a Dust shop. The Headmaster... uh. Well, Ozpin noticed, and was so impressed that he let her in two years early. Tried to get her to make some new friends, but we ended up on the same team anyway… good times."

Yet again, you're confronted with a name you've never heard of. Yang sort of acts like you should be familiar with him, so you'll refrain from asking more about this... probable Syndicate member, if he was robbing a shop.

That said, you're still curious about Beacon Academy. And given she just mentioned her team there, could be a smooth transition.

"Your team at Beacon? How do those work?"

Yang once again gives you a strange look, and you wonder if you've accidentally let too much leak yet again. You mean, it wouldn't be the end of the world if she figured you out, but it'd be embarrassing for you personally, so...

She eventually replies, "Aren't you a Huntress? Did you not go to an Academy or something?"

You seize that excuse like a lifeline. "Yeah. I'm from, uh," fuck, what was it that Glynda mentioned again, the equivalent of the Outskirts... "I'm from outside the kingdoms," you explain. And it's not even a lie. You're from really far outside the kingdoms.

Yang's slightly mollified by this, so you take that as a win.

"Well. At Beacon, during initiation, you get paired with a fellow student. Your partner. And then two sets of partners are joined together to form a four-person team. You stick with them for the next two years of schooling, and another two years after that. I think it works the same at Shade, Haven, and Atlas, but I'm not entirely sure."

Briefly, you contemplate the idea of a grand Fixer school that works under a similar system. A place where aspiring Fixers learn the trade, learn from each other, and hopefully learn enough to not die to the nearest Urban Plague. Ayin would be the headmaster, of course. Benjamin the vice principal. Never mind that they aren't Fixers and wouldn't know an Atelier from a Canard. And that the students would probably kill each other before they learned a single thing. Hell, they might even kill the teachers, if you could fucking find any.

The idea is so stupid that you have to suppress a snicker. You pull yourself together in time to ask Yang another question.

"I take it that Ruby, your sister, was your partner?"

Yang frowns. "No. My partner... was Blake."

There is a load of baggage behind those words. They must have been close. Something frowned upon in the Fixer business, for just this kind of reason. Getting attached just means that when one half of a pair dies, the other's gonna follow. There's a reason most of your friends are just scientists.

Not that it helped.

"She's not dead," Yang says, noticing your expression slowly morph into pity. "She's just... well. She's not here right now. I don't know where she is."

"Yeah. Blake's not dead," she says again, to herself this time.

You still give her an expression of sympathy. There's clearly loss there, regardless of her words. You re-sheathe Mimicry and give her a pat on the non-artificial shoulder. She seems faintly grateful for it, pulling a more neutral expression back onto her face.

"Anyway... Where in Mistral are you going? It's a big continent," Yang asks.

This, you have no issues recalling. You made absolutely sure to memorize the name when Qrow, followed by Glynda, told you.

"Haven Academy."

"Huh," Yang says. "Me too. Well, probably."

You ask, "Probably?"

Yang shrugs. "I know my sister's headed in that direction. Back during the Fall of Beacon, she learned that the main suspects were disguised as students from Haven. It's not much to go off of, but she's nothing if not determined. Don't know if she's gotten there yet."

"Should travel together then," you probe.

But the blonde hesitates to answer, instead asking a different question entirely: "Why are you heading to Haven?"

"Well, like I said," you reply, "looking for magic and stuff. Healing, mostly. And apparently, there's one particular person at Haven that knows a lot more than most, and has the resources to act on it."

Yang's eyes widen. "You don't mean… the headmaster?"

You nod. "Yeah. Leonardo Lionheart."

---

Yang seems… hesitant at best to travel alongside you. Some part of that is probably that her main form of transport is her motorcycle, and riding tandem on that thing's probably uncomfortable at best. And to be fair, you are a complete stranger. But you're also pretty sure there's something she's not telling you.

When the trip ends and you finally get off this boat, you...

[ ] Push to travel alongside her. It'd be better if you were going alongside someone with a lay of the land, and you've already got… something of a rapport.

[ ] Let her be. You'll take the train (not WARP, thankfully) as Qrow recommended. Shouldn't impose on random children.

[ ] Write-in.

---

New Faction Unlocked: Team RWBY

New Character Sheet: Yang Xiao Long

A blonde ex-Huntress-in-training with a motorcycle and a pair of guns. Seems to have a lot of baggage.

---

A/N: Sometimes Kali isn't very observant about things.

Been yet another while… dang. Two months. Welp, that's that and this is this, right? Been a little busy drawing A Party Everlasting repeatedly in different poses for a mod I've been working on.

Really need to finish Sword of Volition sometime soon. Can't leave that thread hanging for much longer.